The Jonathan Edwards Center at Yale University
Jonathan Edwards [1758], The Great Awakening (WJE Online Vol. 4) , Ed. C. C. Goen [word count] [jec-wjeo04].
[Causes of Errors]
As to the first of these, the errors that attend a great revival of religion usually arise from these three things: 1. Undiscerned spiritual pride. 2. Wrong principles. 3. Ignorance of Satan's advantages and devices. [1] The first, and the worst cause of errors that prevail in such a state of things, is spiritual pride. This is the main door, by which the Devil comes into the hearts of those that are zealous for the advancement of religion. 'Tis the chief inlet of smoke from the bottomless pit, to darken the mind, and mislead the judgment: this is the main handle by which the Devil has hold of religious persons, and the chief source of all the mischief that he introduces, to clog and hinder a work of God. This cause of error is the mainspring, or at least the main support of all the rest. Till this disease is cured, medicines are in vain applied to heal other diseases. 'Tis by this that the mind defends itself in other errors, and guards itself against light by which it might be corrected and reclaimed. The spiritually proud man is full of light already; he don't need instruction, and is ready to despise the offer of it. But if this disease be healed, other things are easily rectified. The humble person is like a little child; he easily receives instruction; he is jealous over himself, sensible how liable he is to go astray; and therefore if it be suggested to him that he does so, he is ready most narrowly and impartially to inquire. Nothing sets a person so much out of the Devil's reach as humility, and so prepares the mind for true divine light, without darkness, and so clears the eye to look on things as they truly are. Psalms 25:9, "The meek will he guide in judgment, and the meek he will teach his way." Therefore we should fight neither with small nor with great, but with the king of Israel [2 Chronicles 18:30]: our first care should be to rectify the heart, and pull the beam out of our eye, and then we shall see clearly [Matthew 7:5]. I know that a great many things at this day are very injuriously laid to the pride of those that are zealous in the cause of God. When any person appears, in any respect, remarkably distinguished in religion from others, if he professes those spiritual comforts and joys that are greater than ordinary, or if he appears distinguishingly zealous in religion, if he exerts himself more than others do in the cause of religion, or if he seems to be distinguished with success, ten to one but it will immediately awaken the jealousy of those that are about him; and they'll suspect (whether they have cause or no) that he is very proud of his goodness, and that he affects to have it thought that nobody is so good as he; and all his talk is heard, and all his behavior beheld, with this prejudice. Those that are themselves cold and dead, and especially such as never had any experience of the power of godliness on their own hearts, are ready to entertain such thoughts of the best Christians; which arises from a secret enmity against vital and fervent piety. But then those that are zealous Christians should take heed that this injuriousness of those that are cold in religion, don't prove a snare to them, and the Devil don't take advantage from it, to blind their eyes from beholding what there is indeed of this nature in their hearts, and make 'em think, because they are charged with pride wrongfully, and from an ill spirit, in many things, that therefore it is so in everything. Alas, how much pride have the best of us in our hearts! 'Tis the worst part of the body of sin and death: 'tis the first sin that ever entered into the universe, and the last that is rooted out; 'tis God's most stubborn enemy! The corruption of nature may all be resolved into two things, pride and worldly-mindedness, the Devil and the beast, or self and the world. These are the two pillars of Dagon's temple, on which the whole house leans.[Dagon was the tribal deity of the Philistines, with temples at Gaza and Ashdod. Cf. Judges 16:21, Judges 16:23; 1 Samuel 5:1–7.] But the former of these is every way the worst part of the corruption of nature; 'tis the first-born son of the Devil, and his image in the heart of man chiefly consists in it; 'tis the last thing in a sinner that is overborne by conviction, in order to conversion; and here is the saint's hardest conflict: 'tis the last thing that he obtains a good degree of conquest over, and liberty from; 'tis that which most directly militates against God, and is most contrary to the Spirit of the Lamb of God; and 'tis most like the Devil its father, in a serpentine deceitfulness and secrecy; it lies deepest, and is most active, is most ready secretly to mix itself with everything. And of all kinds of pride, spiritual pride is upon many accounts the most hateful; 'tis most like the Devil; 'tis most like the sin that he committed in an heaven of light and glory, where he was exalted high in divine knowledge, honor, beauty and happiness.[An ancient tradition, allusions to which some have seen in such Scriptures as Job 1:6; Revelation 12:9; 1 Timothy 3:6; Jude 6.] Pride is much more difficultly discerned than any other corruption, for that reason that the nature of it does very much consist in a person's having too high a thought of himself: but no wonder that he that has too high a thought of himself don't know it; for he necessarily thinks that the opinion he has of himself is what he has just grounds for, and therefore not too high; if he thought such an opinion of himself was without just grounds, he would therein cease to have it. But of all kinds of pride, spiritual pride is the most hidden and difficultly discovered; and that for this reason, because those that are spiritually proud, their pride consists much in an high conceit of those two things, viz. their light and their humility; both which are a strong prejudice against a discovery of their pride. Being proud of their light, that makes 'em not jealous of themselves; he that thinks a clear light shines around him is not suspicious of an enemy lurking near him, unseen: and then being proud of their humility, that makes 'em least of all jealous of themselves in that particular, viz. as being under the prevalence of pride. There are many sins of the heart that are very secret in their nature, and difficultly discerned. The Psalmist says, Psalms 19:12, "Who can understand his errors? Cleanse thou me from secret faults." But spiritual pride is the most secret of all sins. The heart is so deceitful and unsearchable in nothing in the world, as it is in this matter, and there is no sin in the world, that men are so confident in, and so difficultly convinced of: the very nature of it is to work self-confidence, and drive away self-diffidence, and jealousy of any evil of that kind. There is no sin so much like the Devil as this, for secrecy and subtlety, and appearing in a great many shapes, undiscerned and unsuspected, and appearing as an angel of light: it takes occasion to arise from everything; it perverts and abuses everything, and even the exercises of real grace and real humility, as an occasion to exert itself. It is a sin that has, as it were, many lives; if you kill it, it will live still; if you mortify and suppress it in one shape, it rises in another; if you think it is all gone, yet it is there still. There are a great many kinds of it, that lie in different forms and shapes, one under another, and encompass the heart like the coats of an onion; if you pull off one there is another underneath. We had need therefore to have the greatest watch imaginable, over our hearts, with respect to this matter, and to cry most earnestly to the great Searcher of hearts, for his help. "He that trusts his own heart is a fool" [Proverbs 28:26]. God's own people should be the more jealous of themselves, with respect to this particular, at this day, because the temptations that many have to this sin are exceeding great: the great and distinguishing privileges to which God admits many of his saints, and the high honors that he puts on some ministers, are great trials of persons in this respect. 'Tis true that great degrees of the spiritual presence of God tends greatly to mortify pride and all corruption; but yet, though in the experience of such favors there be much to restrain pride one way, there is much to tempt and provoke it another; and we shall be in great danger thereby without great watchfulness and prayerfulness. There was much in the circumstances that the angels that fell, were in, in heaven, in their great honors and high privileges, in beholding the face of God, and view of his infinite glory, to cause in them exercises of humility, and to keep 'em from pride; yet through want of watchfulness in them, their great honor and heavenly privilege proved to be to them an undoing temptation to pride, though they had no principle of pride in their hearts to expose 'em. Let no saint therefore, however eminent, and however near to God, think himself out of danger of this: he that thinks himself most out of danger, is indeed most in danger. The Apostle Paul, who doubtless was as eminent a saint as any are now, was not out of danger, even just after he was admitted to see God in the third heavens, by the information he himself gives us, 2 Corinthians 12 chap. And yet doubtless what he saw in heaven of the ineffable glory of the divine Being, had a direct tendency to make him appear exceeding little and vile in his own eyes. Spiritual pride in its own nature is so secret, that it is not so well discerned by immediate intuition on the thing itself, as by the effects and fruits of it; some of which I would mention, together with the contrary fruits of pure Christian humility. Spiritual pride disposes to speak of other persons' sins, their enmity against God and his people, the miserable delusion of hypocrites and their enmity against vital piety, and the deadness of some saints, with bitterness, or with laughter and levity, and an air of contempt; whereas pure Christian humility rather disposes either to be silent about 'em, or to speak of them with grief and pity. Spiritual pride is very apt to suspect others; whereas an humble saint is most jealous of himself, he is so suspicious of nothing in the world as he is of his own heart. The spiritually proud person is apt to find fault with other saints, that they are low in grace, and to be much in observing how cold and dead they be, and crying out of them for it, and to be quick to discern and take notice of their deficiencies: but the eminently humble Christian has so much to do at home, and sees so much evil in his own heart, and is so concerned about it, that he is not apt to be very busy with others' hearts; he complains most of himself, and cries out of his own coldness and lowness in grace, and is apt to esteem others better than himself, and is ready to hope that there is nobody but what has more love and thankfulness to God than he, and can't bear to think that others should bring forth no more fruit to God's honor than he. Some that have spiritual pride mixed with high discoveries and great transports of joy, that dispose 'em in an earnest manner to talk to others, are apt, in such frames, to be calling upon other Christians that are about them, and sharply reproving them for their being so cold and lifeless. And there are some others that behave themselves very differently from these, who in their raptures are overwhelmed with a sense of their own vileness; and when they have extraordinary discoveries of God's glory, are all taken up about their own sinfulness; and though they also are disposed to speak much and very earnestly, yet it is very much in crying out of themselves, and exhorting fellow Christians, but in a charitable and humble manner. Pure Christian humility disposes a person to take notice of everything that is in any respect good in others, and to make the best of it, and to diminish their failings; but to have his eye chiefly on those things that are bad in himself, and to take much notice of everything that aggravates them. In a contrariety to this, it has been the manner in some places, or at least the manner of some persons, to speak of almost everything that they see amiss in others in the most harsh, severe and terrible language. 'Tis frequent with them to say of others' opinions or conduct or advice, or of their coldness, their silence, their caution, their moderation, and their prudence, and many other things that appear in them, that they are from the Devil, or from hell; that such a thing is devilish or hellish or cursed, and that such persons are serving the Devil, or the Devil is in them, that they are soul-murderers and the like; so that the words "Devil" and "hell" are almost continually in their mouths. And such kind of language they will commonly use, not only towards wicked men, but towards them that they themselves allow to be the true children of God, and also towards ministers of the Gospel and others that are very much their superiors. And they look upon it a virtue and high attainment thus to behave themselves. "Oh," say they, "we must be plain-hearted and bold for Christ, we must declare war against sin wherever we see it, we must not mince the matter in the cause of God and when speaking for Christ." And to make any distinction in persons, or to speak the more tenderly because that which is amiss is seen in a superior, they look upon as very mean for a follower of Christ when speaking in the cause of his Master. What a strange device of the Devil is here, to overthrow all Christian meekness and gentleness, and even all shew and appearance of it, and to defile the mouths of the children of God, and to introduce the language of common sailors among the followers of Christ, under a cloak of high sanctity and zeal and boldness for Christ! And it is a remarkable instance of the weakness of the human mind, and how much too cunning the Devil is for us! The grand defense of this way of talking is, that they say no more than what is true; they only speak the truth without mincing the matter; and that true Christians that have a great sight of the evil of sin, and acquaintance with their own hearts know it to be true, and therefore won't be offended to hear such harsh expressions made use of concerning them and their sins; 'tis only (say they) hypocrites, or cold and dead Christians, that are provoked and feel their enmity rise on such an occasion. But 'tis a grand mistake to think that we may commonly use concerning one another all such language as represents the worst of each other, according to strict truth. 'Tis really true, that every kind of sin, and every degree of it, is devilish and from hell, and is cursed, hellish, and condemned or damned: and if persons had a full sight of their hearts they would think no terms too bad for them; they would look like beasts, like serpents and like devils to themselves; they would be at a loss for language to express what they see in themselves, the worst terms they could think of would seem as it were faint to represent what they see in themselves. But shall a child therefore, from time to time, use such language concerning an excellent and eminently holy father or mother, as that the Devil is in them, that they have such and such devilish, cursed dispositions, that they commit every day hundreds of hellish, damned acts, and that they are cursed dogs, hellhounds and devils? And shall the meanest of the people be justified in commonly using such language concerning the most excellent magistrates, or their most eminent ministers? I hope nobody has gone to this height: but the same pretenses of boldness, plain-heartedness, and declared war against sin, will as well justify these things as the things they are actually made use of to justify. If we proceed in such a manner, on such principles as these, what a face will be introduced upon the church of Christ, the little beloved flock of that gentle Shepherd, the Lamb of God? What a sound shall we bring into the house of God, into the family of his dear little children? How far off shall we soon banish that lovely appearance of humility, sweetness, gentleness, mutual honor, benevolence, complacence, and an esteem of others above themselves, which ought to clothe the children of God all over? Not but that Christians should watch over one another, and in any wise reprove one another, and be much in it, and do it plainly and faithfully; but it don't thence follow that dear brethren in the family of God, in rebuking one another, should use worse language than Michael the archangel durst use when rebuking the Devil himself [Jude 9]. Christians that are but fellow worms ought at least to treat one another with as much humility and gentleness as Christ that is infinitely above them treats them. But how did Christ treat his disciples when they were so cold towards him and so regardless of him, at the time when his soul was exceeding sorrowful even unto death, and he in a dismal agony was crying and sweating blood for them, and they would not watch with him and allow him the comfort of their company one hour in his great distress, though he once and again desired it of them? One would think that then was a proper time if ever to have reproved 'em for a devilish, hellish cursed and damned slothfulness and deadness. But after what manner does Christ reprove them? Behold his astonishing gentleness! Says he, "What, could ye not watch with me one hour? The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak" [Matthew 26:36–41]. And how did he treat Peter when he was ashamed of his Master, while he was made a mockingstock and a spittingstock for him? Why, he looked upon him with a look of love, and melted his heart [Luke 22:61]. And though we read that Christ once turned and said unto Peter, on a certain occasion, "Get thee behind me, Satan" [Matthew 16:23], and this may seem like an instance of harshness and severity in reproving Peter; yet I humbly conceive that this is by many taken wrong, and that this is indeed no instance of Christ's severity in his treatment of Peter, but on the contrary, of his wonderful gentleness and grace, distinguishing between Peter and the Devil in him, not laying the blame of what Peter had then said, or imputing it to him, but to the Devil that influenced him. Christ saw the Devil then present, secretly influencing Peter to do the part of a tempter to his Master; and therefore Christ turned him about to Peter, in whom the Devil then was, and spake to the Devil, and rebuked him. Thus the grace of Christ don't behold iniquity in his people [and] imputes not what is amiss in 'em to them, but to sin that dwells in them, and to Satan that influences them. But to return— Spiritual pride often disposes persons to singularity in external appearance, to affect a singuar way of speaking, to use a different sort of dialect from others, or to be singular in voice, or air of countenance or behavior: but he that is an eminently humble Christian, though he will be firm to his duty, however singular he is in it; he'll go in the way that leads to heaven alone, all the world forsakes him; yet he delights not in singularity for singularity's sake, he don't affect to set up himself to be viewed and observed as one distinguished, as desiring to be accounted better than others, or despising their company, or an union and conformity to them; but on the contrary is disposed to become "all things to all men" [1 Corinthians 9:22], and to yield to others, and conform to them and please 'em, in everything but sin. Spiritual pride commonly occasions a certain stiffness and inflexibility in persons, in their own judgment and their own ways; whereas the eminently humble person, though he be inflexible in his duty, and in those things wherein God's honor is concerned; and with regard to temptation to those things he apprehends to be sinful, though in never so small a degree, he is not at all of a yieldable spirit, but is like a brazen wall; yet in other things he is of a pliable disposition, not disposed to set up his own opinion, or his own will; he is ready to pay deference to others' opinions, and loves to comply with their inclinations, and has a heart that is tender and flexible, like a little child. Spiritual pride disposes persons to affect separation, to stand at a distance from others, as better than they, and loves the shew and appearance of the distinction: but on the contrary the eminently humble Christian is ready to look upon himself as not worthy that others should be united to him, to think himself more brutish than any man, and worthy to be cast out of human society, and especially unworthy of the society of God's children; and though he will not be a companion with one that is visibly Christ's enemy, and delights most in the company of lively Christians, will choose such for his companions, and will be most intimate with them, and don't at all delight to spend away much time in the company of those that seem to relish no conversation but about worldly things; yet he don't love the appearance of an open separation from visible Christians, as being a kind of distinct company from them that are one visible company with him by Christ's appointment, and will as much as possible shun all appearances of a superiority, or distinguishing himself as better than others. His universal benevolence delights in the appearance of union with his fellow creatures, and will maintain it as much as he possibly can without giving open countenance to iniquity, or wounding his own soul; and herein he follows the example of his meek and lowly Redeemer, who did not keep up such a separation and distance as the Pharisees, but [did] freely eat with publicans and sinners, that he might win them. The eminently humble Christian is as it were clothed with lowliness, mildness, meekness, gentleness of spirit and behavior, and with a soft, sweet, condescending, winning air and deportment; these things are just like garments to him; he is clothed all over with them. 1 Peter 5:5, "And be clothed with humility." Colossians 3:12, "Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering." Pure Christian humility has no such thing as roughness, or contempt, or fierceness, or bitterness in its nature; it makes a person like a little child, harmless and innocent, and that none need to be afraid of; or like a lamb, destitute of all bitterness, wrath, anger and clamor, agreeable to Ephesians 4:31.
With such a spirit as this ought especially zealous ministers of the Gospel to be clothed, and those that God is pleased to improve as instruments in his hands of promoting his work. They ought indeed to be thorough in preaching the Word of God, without mincing the matter at all; in handling the sword of the Spirit [Ephesians 6:17], as the ministers of the Lord of hosts, they ought not to be mild and gentle; they are not to be gentle and moderate in searching and awakening the conscience but should be sons of thunder. The Word of God, which is in itself "sharper than any two-edged sword," ought not to be sheathed by its ministers, but so used that its sharp edges may have their full effect, even to the "dividing asunder soul and spirit, joints and marrow" [Hebrews 4:12] (provided they do it without judging particular persons, leaving it to conscience and the Spirit of God to make the particular application); but all their conversation should savor of nothing but lowliness and good will, love and pity to all mankind; so that such a spirit should be like a sweet odor diffused around 'em wherever they go, or like a light shining about 'em; their faces should as it were shine with it: they should be like lions to guilty consciences, but like lambs to men's persons. This would have no tendency to prevent the awakening of men's consciences, but on the contrary would have a very great tendency to awaken them; it would make way for the sharp sword to enter; it would remove the obstacles, and make a naked breast for the arrow. Yea, the amiable Christ-like conversation of such ministers in itself would terrify consciences of men, as well as their terrible preaching; both would co-operate one with another, to subdue the hard, and bring down the proud heart. If there had been constantly and universally observable such a behavior as this in itinerant preachers, it would have terrified the consciences of sinners ten times as much as all the invectives, and the censorious talk there has been concerning particular persons for their opposition, hypocrisy, delusion, pharisaism, etc. These things in general have rather stupefied sinners' consciences; they take 'em up, and make use of 'em as a shield, wherewith to defend themselves from the sharp arrows of the Word that are shot by these preachers: the enemies of the present work have been glad of these things with all their hearts. Many of the most bitter of them are probably such as in the beginning of this work had their consciences something galled and terrified with it; but these errors of awakening preachers are the things they chiefly make use of as plasters to heal the sore that was made in their consciences.
Spiritual pride takes great notice of opposition and injuries that are received, and is apt to be often speaking of them, and to be much in taking notice of the aggravations of 'em, either with an air of bitterness or contempt: whereas pure, unmixed Christian humility disposes a person rather to be like his blessed Lord, when reviled, dumb, not opening his mouth, but committing himself in silence to him that judgeth righteously [Isaiah 53:7; 1 Peter 2:23]. The eminently humble Christian, the more clamorous and furious the world is against him, the more silent and still will he be; unless it be in his closet, and there he will not be still. Our blessed Lord Jesus seems never to have been so silent as when the world compassed him round, reproaching, buffeting and spitting on him, with loud and virulent outcries, and horrid cruelties. There has been a great deal too much talk of late, among many of the true and zealous friends of religion, about opposition and persecution. It becomes the followers of the Lamb of God, when the world is in an uproar about them, and full of clamor against them, not to raise another noise to answer it, but to be still and quiet. 'Tis not beautiful, at such a time, to have pulpits and conversation ring with the sound, "Persecution, persecution," or with abundant talk about Pharisees, carnal persecutors, and the seed of the serpent [Genesis 3:15]. Meekness and quietness among God's people, when opposed and reviled, would be the surest way to have God remarkably to appear for their defense. 'Tis particularly observed of Moses, on the occasion of Aaron and Miriam their envying him, and rising up in opposition against him, that he "was very meek, above all men upon the face of the earth," Numbers 12:3; doubtless because he remarkably shewed his meekness on that occasion, being wholly silent under the abuse. And how remarkable is the account that follows of God's being as it were suddenly roused to appear for his vindication? And what high honor did he put upon Moses? And how severe were his rebukes of his opposers? The story is very remarkable, and worth everyone's observing. Nothing is so effectual to bring God down from heaven in the defense of his people, as their patience and meekness under sufferings. When Christ girds his sword upon his thigh, with his glory and majesty, and in his majesty rides prosperously, his right hand teaching him terrible things, it is because of truth and meekness and righteousness, Psalms 45:3–4. God will cause judgment to be heard from heaven; the earth shall fear and be still, and God will arise to judgment, to save all the meek of the earth, [paraphrase of] Psalms 76:8–9. He will lift up the meek, and cast the wicked down to the ground, Psalms 147:6. He will "reprove with equity for the meek of the earth, and will smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips will he slay the wicked," Isaiah 11:4. The great commendation that Christ gives the church of Philadelphia is that, "Thou hast kept the word of my patience," Revelation 3:10. And we may see what reward he promises her, in the preceding verse, "Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship at thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee." And thus it is, that we might expect to have Christ appear for us, if under all reproaches we are loaded with, we behaved ourselves with a lamb-like meekness and gentleness; but if our spirits are raised, and we are vehement and noisy with our complaints under color of Christian zeal, this will be to take upon us our own defense, and God will leave it with us to vindicate our cause as well as we can: yea, if we go on in a way of bitterness and high censuring, it will be the way to have him rebuke us, and put us to shame before our enemies. Here some may be ready to say, "'Tis not in our own cause that we are thus vehement, but it is in the cause of God; and the Apostle directed the primitive Christians to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints" [Jude 3]. But how was it that the primitive Christians contended earnestly for the faith? They defended the truth with arguments and a holy conversation; but yet gave their reasons with meekness and fear: they contended earnestly for the faith by fighting violently against their own unbelief and the corruptions of their hearts; yea, they resisted unto blood striving against sin [Hebrews 12:4]; but the blood that was shed in this earnest strife was their own blood, and not the blood of their enemies. It was in the cause of God that Peter was so fierce, and drew his sword, and began to smite with it; but Christ bids him put up his sword again, telling him that they that take the sword shall perish by the sword; and while Peter wounds, Christ heals.[Matthew 26:51–52 and parallels; only John (John 18:10) identifies the swordsman as Peter.] They contend the most violently, and are the greatest conquerors in a time of persecution, who bear it with the greatest meekness and patience. Great humility improves even the reflections and reproaches of enemies, to put upon serious self-examination, whether or no there be not some just cause, whether they han't in some respect given occasion to the enemy to speak reproachfully: whereas spiritual pride improves such reflections to make 'em the more bold and confident, and to go the greater lengths in that for which they are found fault with. I desire it may be considered whether there has been nothing amiss of late, among the true friends of vital piety in this respect; and whether the words of David, when reviled by Michal, han't been misinterpreted and misapplied to justify them in it, when he said, "I will be yet more vile, and will be base in mine own sight" [2 Samuel 6:22]. The import of his words is that he would humble himself yet more before God, being sensible that he was far from being sufficiently abased; and he signifies this to Michal, and that he longed to be yet lower, and had designed already to abase himself more in his behavior; not that he would go the greater length, to shew his regardlessness of her revilings; that would be to exalt himself, and not more to abase himself, as more vile in his own sight. Another effect of spiritual pride is a certain unsuitable and self-confident boldness before God and men. Thus some in their great rejoicings before God, han't paid a sufficient regard to that rule in Psalms 2:11. They han't rejoiced with a reverential trembling, in a proper sense of the awful majesty of God, and the awful distance between God and them. And there has also been an improper boldness before men, that has been encouraged and defended by a misapplication of that Scripture, Proverbs 29:25, "The fear of man bringeth a snare." As though it became all persons, high and low, men, women and children, in all religious conversation, wholly to divest themselves of all manner of shamefacedness, modesty or reverence towards man; which is a great error, and quite contrary to Scripture. There is a fear of reverence [One is tempted to suspect here a misprint for "fear or reverence," but JE quite evidently intended a descriptive genitive. See also the following sentence, "fear of modesty."] that is due to some men: Romans 13:7, "Fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor." And there is a fear of modesty and shamefacedness, in inferiors towards superiors, that is amiable and required by Christian rules: 1 Peter 3:2, "While they behold your chaste conversation, coupled with fear." And 1 Timothy 2:9, "In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety." And the Apostle means that this virtue shall have place, not only in civil communication, but also in spiritual communication, and in our religious concerns and behavior, as is evident by what follows: vss. 1 Timothy 2:11–12, "Let the women learn in silence, with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence." Not that I would hence infer that women's mouths should be shut up from Christian conversation; but all that I mean from it at this time is that modesty, or shamefacedness, and reverence towards men, ought to have some place, even in our religious communication one with another. The same is also evident by 1 Peter 3:15, "Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear." 'Tis well if that very fear and shamefacedness which the Apostle recommends, han't sometimes been condemned under the name of a cursed fear of man. 'Tis beautiful for persons when they are at prayer as the mouth of others, to make God only their fear and their dread, and to be wholly forgetful of men that are present; who, let 'em be great or small, are nothing in the presence of the great God. And 'tis beautiful for a minister, when he speaks in the name of the Lord of hosts, to be bold, and put off all fear of men. And 'tis beautiful in private Christians, though they are women and children, to be bold in professing the faith of Christ, and in the practice of all religion, and in owning God's hand in the work of his power and grace, without any fear of men, though they should be reproached as fools and madmen, and frowned upon by great men, and cast off by parents and all the world. But for private Christians, women and others, to instruct, rebuke and exhort, with a like sort of boldness as becomes a minister when preaching, is not beautiful. Some have been bold in some things that have really been errors; and have gloried in their boldness in practicing them, though cried out of as odd and irregular. And those that have gone the greatest lengths in these things, have been by some most highly esteemed, as those that come out and appear bold for the Lord Jesus Christ, and fully on his side; and others that have professed to be godly, that have condemned such things, have been spoken of as enemies of the cross of Christ, or at least very cold and dead; and many that of themselves were not inclined to such practices have by this means been driven on, being ashamed to be behind, and accounted poor soldiers for Christ. Another effect of spiritual pride is assuming: it oftentimes makes it natural to persons so to act and speak, as though it in a special manner belonged to them to be taken notice of and much regarded. It is very natural to a person that is much under the influence of spiritual pride, to take all that respect that is paid him: if others shew a disposition to submit to him, and yield him the deference of a preceptor, he is open to it, and freely admits it; yea, 'tis natural for him to expect such treatment, and to take much notice of it if he fails of it, and to have an ill opinion of others that don't pay him that which he looks upon as his prerogative. He is apt to think that it belongs to him to speak, and to clothe himself with a judicial and dogmatical air in conversation, and to take it upon him as what belongs to him, to give forth his sentence, and to determine and decide: whereas pure Christian humility vaunteth not itself, doth not behave itself unseemly, and is apt to prefer others in honor.[Cf. 1 Corinthians 13:4–5 (where the subject is love, not humility) and Romans 12:10.] One under the influence of spiritual pride is more apt to instruct others, than to inquire for himself, and naturally puts on the airs of a master: whereas one that is full of pure humility naturally has on the air of a disciple; his voice is, "What shall I do? What shall I do that I may live more to God's honor? What shall I do with this wicked heart?" He is ready to receive instruction from anybody, agreeable to James 1:19, "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak." The eminently humble Christian thinks he wants help from everybody, whereas he that is spiritually proud thinks that everybody wants his help. Christian humility, under a sense of others' misery, entreats and beseeches; spiritual pride affects to command, and warn with authority. There ought to be the utmost watchfulness against all such appearances of spiritual pride, in all that profess to have been the subjects of this work, and especially in the promoters of it, but above all in itinerant preachers: the most eminent gifts, and highest tokens of God's favor and blessing will not excuse them. Alas! What is man at his best estate! What is the most highly favored Christian, or the most eminent and successful minister, that he should now think he is sufficient for something, and somebody to be regarded, and that he should go forth, and act among his fellow creatures, as if he were wise and strong and good! Ministers that have been the principal instruments of carrying on this glorious revival of religion, and that God has made use of, as it were to bring up his people out of Egypt, as he did of Moses, should take heed that they don't provoke God as Moses did, by assuming too much to themselves, and by their intemperate zeal, to shut them out from seeing the good things that God is going to do for his church in this world. The fruits of Moses' unbelief, which provoked God to shut him out of Canaan, and not to suffer him to partake of those great things God was about to do for Israel on earth, were chiefly these two things: First, his mingling bitterness with his zeal. He had a great zeal for God, and he could not bear to see the intolerable stiff-neckedness of the people, that they did not acknowledge the work of God, and were not convinced by all his wonders that they had seen; but human passion was mingled with his zeal. Psalms 106:32–33, "They angered him also at the waters of strife, so that it went ill with Moses for their sakes: because they provoked his spirit, so that he spake unadvisedly with his lips." "Hear now, ye rebels," says he, with bitterness of language. Secondly, he behaved himself, and spake with an assuming air. He assumed too much to himself: "Hear now, ye rebels, must we fetch water out of this rock?" [Numbers 20:10]. Spiritual pride wrought in Moses at that time. His temptations to it were very great, for he had had great discoveries of God, and had been privileged with intimate and sweet communion with him, and God had made him the instrument of great good to his church; and though he was so humble a person, and by God's own testimony meek above all men upon the face of the whole earth, yet his temptations were too strong for him: which surely should make our young ministers, that have of late been highly favored and have had great success, exceeding careful and distrustful of themselves. Alas! how far are we from having the strength of holy, meek, aged Moses! The temptation at this day is exceeding great to both those errors that Moses was guilty of: there is great temptation to bitterness and corrupt passion with zeal; for there is so much unreasonable opposition made against this glorious work of God, and so much stiff-neckedness manifested in multitudes of this generation, notwithstanding all the great and wonderful works in which God has passed before them, that it greatly tends to provoke the spirits of such as have the interest of this work at heart, so as to move 'em to speak unadvisedly with their lips. And there is also great temptation to an assuming behavior in some persons: when a minister is greatly succeeded, from time to time, and so draws the eyes of the multitude upon him, and he sees himself flocked after, and resorted to as an oracle, and people are ready to adore him, and to offer sacrifice to him, as it was with Paul and Barnabas at Lystra [Acts 14:11–13], it is almost impossible for a man to avoid taking upon him the airs of a master, or some extraordinary person; a man had need to have a great stock of humility, and much divine assistance, to resist the temptation. But the greater our dangers are, the more ought to be our watchfulness and prayerfulness, and diffidence of ourselves, lest we bring ourselves into mischief. Fishermen that have been very successful, and have caught a great many fish, had need to be careful that they don't at length begin to burn incense to their net. And we should take warning by Gideon, who after God had highly favored and exalted him, and made him the instrument of working a wonderful deliverance for his people, at length made a god of the spoils of his enemies, which became a snare to him and to his house, so as to prove the ruin of his family [Judges 8:24–27]. All young ministers in this day of the bringing up the ark of God, should take warning by the example of a young Levite in Israel, viz. Uzzah, the son of Abinadab. He seemed to have a real concern for the ark of God, and to be zealous and engaged in his mind on that joyful occasion of bringing up the ark, and God made him an instrument to bring the ark out of its long continued obscurity in Kirjath-jearim, and he was succeeded to bring it a considerable way towards Mount Zion; but for his want of humility, reverence and circumspection, and assuming to himself, or taking too much upon him, God broke forth upon him, and smote him for his error, so that he never lived to see and partake of the great joy of his church, on occasion of the carrying up the ark into Mount Zion, and the great blessings of heaven upon Israel, that were consequent upon it [2 Samuel 6:2–7]. Ministers that have been improved to carry on this work have been chiefly of the younger sort, who have doubtless (as Uzzah had) a real concern for the ark; and 'tis evident that they are much animated and engaged in their minds (as he was) in this joyful day of bringing up the ark; and they are afraid what will become of the ark under the conduct of its ministers (that are sometimes in Scripture compared to oxen [1 Corinthians 9:9]); they see the ark shakes, and they are afraid these blundering oxen will throw it; and some of 'em, it is to be feared, have been over officious on this occasion, and have assumed too much to themselves, and have been bold to put forth their hand to take hold of the ark, as though they were the only fit and worthy persons to defend it.
If young ministers had great humility without a mixture, it would dispose 'em especially to treat aged ministers with respect and reverence, as their fathers, notwithstanding that a sovereign God may have given them greater assistance and success than they have had. 1 Peter 5:5, "Likewise ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder; yea, all of you, be subject one to another; and be clothed with humility; for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble." Leviticus 19:32, "Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honor the face of the old man, and fear thy God; I am the Lord." As spiritual pride disposes persons to assume much to themselves, so it also disposes 'em to treat others with neglect: on the contrary, pure Christian humility disposes persons to honor all men, agreeable to that rule, 1 Peter 2:17. There has been in some, that I believe are true friends of religion, too much of an appearance of this fruit of spiritual pride, in their treatment of those that they looked upon to be carnal men; and particularly in refusing to enter into any discourse or reasoning with them. Indeed to spend a great deal of time in jangling and warm debates about religion, is not the way to propagate religion, but to hinder it; and some are so dreadfully set against this work that it is a dismal task to dispute with them; all that one can say is utterly in vain. I have found it so by experience; and to go to enter into disputes about religion, at some times is quite unseasonable, as particularly in meetings for religious conference, or exercises of worship. But yet we ought to be very careful that we don't refuse to discourse with men, with any appearance of supercilious neglect, as though we counted 'em not worthy to be regarded; on the contrary, we should condescend to carnal men, as Christ has condescended to us, to bear with our unteachableness and stupidity, and still to follow us with instructions, line upon line, and precept upon precept [Isaiah 28:10], saying, "Come, let us reason together" [Isaiah 1:18]; setting light before us, and using all manner of arguments with us, and Waiting upon such dull scholars, as it were hoping that we should receive light. We should be ready with meekness and calmness, without hot disputing, to give our reasons, why we think this work is the work of God, to carnal men when they ask us, and not turn them by as not worthy to be talked with; as the Apostle directed the primitive Christians to be ready to give a reason of the Christian faith and hope to the enemies of Christianity, 1 Peter 3:15, "Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear." And we ought not to condemn all reasoning about things of religion under the name of carnal reason. For my part, I desire no better than that those that oppose this work, should come fairly to submit to have the cause betwixt us tried by strict reasoning. One qualification that the Scripture speaks of once and again, as requisite in a minister, is that he should be διδακτικόν, apt to teach, 1 Timothy 3:2. And the Apostle seems to explain what he means by it, in 2 Timothy 2:24–25. Or at least there [he] expresses one thing he intends by it, viz. that a minister should be ready, meekly to condescend to, and instruct opposers: "And the servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves, if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth." [2] Secondly, another thing from whence errors in conduct, that attend such a revival of religion, do arise, is wrong principles. And one erroneous principle, than which scarce any has proved more mischievous to the present glorious work of God, is a notion that 'tis God's manner now in these days to guide his saints, at least some that are more eminent, by inspiration, or immediate revelation; and to make known to 'em what shall come to pass hereafter, or what it is his will that they should do, by impressions that he by his Spirit makes upon their minds, either with or without texts of Scripture; whereby something is made known to them, that is not taught in the Scripture as the words lie in the Bible. By such a notion the Devil has a great door opened for him; and if once this opinion should come to be fully yielded to and established in the church of God, Satan would have opportunity thereby to set up himself as the guide and oracle of God's people, and to have his word regarded as their infallible rule, and so to lead 'em where he would, and to introduce what he pleased, and soon to bring the Bible into neglect and contempt. Late experience in some instances has shown that the tendency of this notion is to cause persons to esteem the Bible as a book that is in a great measure useless. This error will defend and support all errors. As long as a person has a notion that he is guided by immediate direction from heaven, it makes him incorrigible and impregnable in all his misconduct: for what signifies it for poor blind worms of the dust to go to argue with a man, and endeavor to convince him and correct him, that is guided by the immediate counsels and commands of the great Jehovah? This great work of God has been exceedingly hindered by this error; and till we have quite taken this handle out of the Devil's hands, the work of God will never go on without great clogs and hindrances. But Satan will always have a vast advantage in his hands against it, and as he has improved it hitherto, so he will do still: and 'tis evident that the Devil knows the vast advantage he has by it, that makes him exceeding loath to let go his hold.[The Rev. Thomas Gillespie of Carnock, Scotland (below, p. 561 n. 1), chid JE for not saying more on this matter, and admonished; "I humbly think the Lord calls you, dear Sir, to consider every part of that point in the most critical manner, and to represent fully the consequences resulting from the several principles in that matter, good people, as well as others, have been so fond of" (letter dated 'Tis strange what a disposition there is in many well disposed and religious persons, to fall in with and hold fast this notion. 'Tis enough to astonish one that such multiplied, plain instances of the failing of such supposed revelations in the event don't open everyone's eyes. I have seen so many instances of the failing of such impressions, that would almost furnish an history: I have been acquainted with them when made under all kinds of circumstances, and have seen 'em fail in the event, when made with such circumstances as have been fairest and brightest, and most promising; as when they have been made upon the minds of such as there was all reason to think were true saints, yea, eminent saints, and at the very time when they have had great divine discoveries, and have been in the high exercise of true communion with God, and made with great strength, and with great sweetness accompanying, and I have had reason to think, with an excellent heavenly frame of spirit, yet continued, and made with texts of Scripture that seemed to be exceeding apposite, yea, many texts following one another, extraordinarily and wonderfully brought to the mind, and with great power and majesty, and the impressions repeated over and over, after prayers to be directed; and yet all has most manifestly come to nothing, to the full conviction of the persons themselves. And God has in so many instances of late in his providence covered such things with darkness, that one would think it should be enough quite to blank the expectations of such as have been ready to think highly of such things; it seems to be a testimony of God, that he has no design of reviving revelations in his church, and a rebuke from him to the groundless expectations of it. It seems to me that that Scripture, Zechariah 13:5, is a prophecy concerning ministers of the Gospel, in the latter and glorious day of the Christian church, which is evidently spoken of in this and the foregoing chapters. The words are, "I am no prophet; I am an husbandman: for man taught me to keep cattle from my youth." The words, I apprehend, are to be interpreted in a spiritual sense: "I am an husbandman"—the work of ministers is very often in the New Testament compared to the business of the husbandmen, that take care of God's husbandry, to whom he lets out his vineyard, and sends 'em forth to labor in his field, where one plants and another waters, one sows and another reaps; so ministers are called laborers in God's harvest [cf. 1 Corinthians 2:5–9]. And as it is added, "Man taught me to keep cattle from my youth," so the work of a minister is very often in Scripture represented by the business of a shepherd or pastor. And whereas it is said, "I am no prophet, but man taught me from my youth," 'tis as much as to say, I don't pretend to have received my skill, whereby I am fitted for the business of a pastor or shepherd in the church of God, by immediate inspiration, but by education, by being trained up to the business by human learning, and instructions I have received from my youth or childhood, by ordinary means. And why can't we be contented with the divine oracles, that holy, pure Word of God, that we have in such abundance and such clearness, now since the canon of Scripture is completed? Why should we desire to have anything added to them by impulses from above? Why should not we rest in that standing rule that God has given to his church, which the Apostle teaches us is surer than a voice from heaven? And why should we desire to make the Scripture speak more to us than it does? Or why should any desire any higher kind of intercourse with heaven, than that which is by having the Holy Spirit given in his sanctifying influences, infusing and exciting grace and holiness, love and joy, which is the highest kind of intercourse that the saints and angels in heaven have with God, and the chief excellency of the glorified man Christ Jesus? Some that follow impulses and impressions go away with a notion that they do no other than follow the guidance of God's Word, and make the Scripture their rule, because the impression is made with a text of Scripture that comes to their mind, though they take that text as it is impressed on their minds, and improve it as a new revelation, to all intents and purposes, or as the revelation of a particular thing that is now newly made, while the text in itself, as it is in the Bible, implies no such thing, and they themselves do not suppose that any such revelation was contained in it before. As for instance, suppose that text should come into a person's mind with strong impression, Acts 9:6, "Arise, and go into the city; and it shall be told thee what thou must do." And he should interpret it as an immediate signification of the will of God, that he should now, forthwith go to such a neighbor town, and as a revelation of that future event, viz. that there he should meet with a further discovery of his duty. If such things as these are revealed by the impression of these words, 'tis to all intents a new revelation, not the less because certain words of Scripture are made use of in the case: here are propositions or truths entirely new, that are supposed now to be revealed, that those words do not contain in themselves, and that till now there was no revelation of anywhere to be found in heaven or earth. These propositions, that 'tis God's mind and will that such a person by name should arise at such a time, and go from such a place to such a place, and that there he should meet with discoveries, are entirely new propositions, wholly different from the propositions contained in that text of Scripture, no more contained or consequentially implied in the words themselves, without a new revelation, than it is implied that he should arise and go to any other place, or that any other person should arise and go to that place. The propositions supposed to be now revealed are as really different from those contained in that Scripture, as they are from the propositions contained in that text, Genesis 5:6, "And Seth lived an hundred and five years, and begat Enos." This is quite a different thing from the Spirit's enlightening the mind to understand the precepts or propositions of the Word of God, and [to] know what is contained and revealed in them, and what consequences may justly be drawn from them, and to see how they are applicable to our case and circumstances; which is done without any new revelation, only by enabling the mind to understand and apply a revelation already made. Those texts of Scripture that speak of the children of God as led by the Spirit, have been by some brought to defend a being guided by such impulses; as particularly those [in] Romans 8:14, "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God"; and Galatians 5:18, "But if ye are led by the Spirit, ye are not under the law." But these texts themselves confute them that bring them; for 'tis evident that the leading of the Spirit that the Apostle speaks of is a gracious leading, or what is peculiar to the children of God, and that natural men cannot have; for he speaks of it as a sure evidence of their being the sons of God, and not under the law: but a leading or directing a person by immediately revealing to him where he should go, or what shall hereafter come to pass, or what shall be the future consequence of his doing thus or thus, if there be any such thing in these days, is not of the nature of the gracious leading of the Spirit of God that is peculiar to God's children; 'tis no more than a common gift; there is nothing in it but what natural men are capable of, and many of them have had in the days of inspiration. A man may have ten thousand such revelations and directions from the Spirit of God, and yet not have a jot of grace in his heart: 'tis no more than the gift of prophecy, which immediately reveals what will be, or should be hereafter; but this is but a common gift, as the Apostle expressly shews, 1 Corinthians 13:2, 1 Corinthians 13:8. If a person has anything revealed to him from God, or is directed to anything by a voice from heaven, or a whisper, or words immediately suggested and put into his mind, there is nothing of the nature of grace merely in this; 'tis of the nature of a common influence of the Spirit, and is but dross and dung in comparison of the excellency of that gracious leading of the Spirit that the saints have. Such a way of being directed where one shall go, and what he shall do, is no more than what Balaam had from God, who from time to time revealed to him what he should do, and when he had done one thing, then directed him what he should do next; so that he was in this sense led by the Spirit for a considerable time [Numbers 22]. There is a more excellent way that the Spirit of God leads the sons of God, that natural men cannot have, and that is by inclining them to do the will of God, and go in the shining path of truth and Christian holiness, from an holy heavenly disposition, which the Spirit of God gives them, and enlivens in them which inclines 'em and leads 'em to those things that are excellent and agreeable to God's mind, whereby they are "transformed by the renewing of their minds, and prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God," as in Romans 12:2. And so the Spirit of God does in a gracious manner teach the saints their duty; and teaches 'em in an higher manner than ever Balaam, or Saul, or Judas, were taught, or any natural man is capable of while such. The Spirit of God enlightens 'em with respect to their duty by making their eye single and pure, whereby the "whole body is full of light" [Matthew 6:22]. The sanctifying influence of the Spirit of God rectifies the taste of the soul, whereby it savors those things that are of God, and naturally relishes and delights in those things that are holy and agreeable to God's mind, and like one of a distinguishing taste, chooses those things that are good and wholesome, and rejects those things that are evil; for the sanctified ear tries words, and the sanctified heart tries actions, as the mouth tastes meat. And thus the Spirit of God leads and guides the meek in his way, agreeable to his promises; he enables them to understand the commands and counsels of his Word, and rightly to apply them. Christ blames the Pharisees that they had not this holy distinguishing taste, to discern and distinguish what was right and wrong. Luke 12:57, "Yea, and why, even of your own selves, judge ye not what is right?" The leading of the Spirit which God gives his children, which is peculiar to them, is that teaching them his statutes, and causing them to understand the way of his precepts, which the Psalmist so very often prays for, especially in the Psalms 119 Psalm; and not in giving of them new statutes, and new precepts. He graciously gives them eyes to see, and ears to hear, and hearts to understand; he causes them to understand the fear of the Lord, and so brings the blind by a way they knew not, and leads them in paths that they had not known, and makes darkness light before them, and crooked things straight [Proverbs 2:5; Isaiah 42:16]. So the assistance of the Spirit in praying and preaching seems by some to have been greatly misunderstood, and they have sought after a miraculous assistance of inspiration, by immediate suggesting of words to them, by such gifts and influences of the Spirit, in praying and teaching, as the Apostle speaks of, 1 Corinthians 14:14, 1 Corinthians 14:26 (which many natural men had in those days), instead of a gracious holy assistance of the Spirit of God, which is the far more excellent way (as 1 Corinthians 12:31 and 1 Corinthians 13:1). The gracious, and most excellent, kind assistance of the Spirit of God in praying and preaching, is not my immediate suggesting of words to the apprehension, which may be with a cold dead heart, but by warming the heart and filling it with a great sense of those things that are to be spoken of, and with holy affections, that that sense and those affections may suggest words. Thus indeed the Spirit of God may be said, indirectly and mediately to suggest words to us, to indite our petitions for us, and to teach the preacher what to say; he fills the heart, and that fills the mouth; as we know that when men are greatly affected in any matter, and their hearts are very full, it fills them with matter for speech, and makes 'em eloquent upon that subject; and much more have spiritual affections this tendency, for many reasons that might be given. When a person is in an holy and lively frame in secret prayer, it will wonderfully supply him with matter and with expressions, as every true Christian knows; and so it will fill his mouth in Christian conversation, and it has the like tendency to enable a person in public prayer and preaching. And if he has these holy influences of the Spirit on his heart in an high degree, nothing in the world will have so great a tendency to make both the matter and manner of his public performances excellent and profitable. But since there is no immediate suggesting of words from the Spirit of God to be expected or desired, they who neglect and despise study and premeditation, in order to a preparation for the pulpit, in such an expectation are guilty of presumption; though doubtless it may be lawful for some persons in some cases (and they may be called to it) to preach with very little study; and the Spirit of God, by the heavenly frame of heart that he gives them, may enable them to do it to excellent purpose. Besides this most excellent way of the Spirit of God his assisting ministers in public performances, which (considered as the preacher's privilege) far excels inspiration, there is a common assistance which natural men may have in these days, and which the godly may have intermingled with a gracious assistance, which is also very different from inspiration, and that is his assisting natural principles; as his assisting the natural apprehension, reason, memory, conscience and natural affection. But to return to the head of impressions and immediate revelations; many lay themselves open to a delusion by expecting direction from heaven in this way, and waiting for it: in such a case it is easy for persons to imagine that they have it. They are perhaps at a loss concerning something, undetermined what they shall do, or what course they should take in some affair, and they pray to God to direct them, and make known to 'em his mind and will; and then, instead of expecting to be directed, by being assisted in consideration of the rules of God's Word, and their circumstances, and God's providence, and enabled to look on things in a true light, and justly to weigh them, they are waiting for some secret immediate influence on their minds, unaccountably swaying their minds and turning their thought or inclinations that way that God would have them go, and are observing their own minds to see what arises there, whether some texts of Scripture don't come into the mind, or whether some ideas or inward motions and dispositions don't arise in something of an unaccountable manner that they may call a divine direction. Hereby they are exposed to two things. First, they lay themselves open to the Devil, and give him a fair opportunity to lead them where he pleases; for they stand ready to follow the first extraordinary impulse that they shall have, groundlessly concluding it is from God. And secondly, they are greatly exposed to be deceived by their own imaginations; for such an expectation awakens and quickens the imagination; and that oftentimes is called an uncommon impression, that is no such thing; and they ascribe that to the agency of some invisible being, that is owing only to themselves. Again, another way that many have been deceived, is by drawing false conclusions from true premises. Many true and eminent saints have been led into mistakes and snares by arguing too much from that, that they have prayed in faith; and that oftentimes when the premises are true, they have indeed been greatly assisted in prayer for such a particular mercy, and have had the true spirit of prayer in exercise in their asking it of God; but they have concluded more from these premises than is a just consequence from them: that they have thus prayed is a sure sign that their prayer is accepted and heard, and that God will give a gracious answer, according to his own wisdom, and that the particular thing that was asked shall be given, or that which is equivalent; this is a just consequence from it; but it is not inferred by any new revelation now made, but by the revelation that is made in God's Word, the promises made to the prayer of faith in the Holy Scriptures: but that God will answer them in that individual thing that they ask, if it ben't a thing promised in God's Word, or they don't certainly know that it is that which will be most for the good of God's church and the advancement of Christ's kingdom and glory, nor whether it will be best for them, is more than can be justly concluded from it. If God remarkably meets with one of his children while he is praying for a particular mercy of great importance, for himself, or some other person, or any society of men, and does by the influences of his Spirit greatly humble him and empty him of himself in his prayer, and manifests himself remarkably in his excellency, sovereignty and his all-sufficient power and grace in Jesus Christ, and does in a remarkable manner enable the person to come to him for that mercy, poor in spirit and with humble resignation to God, and with a great degree of faith in the divine sufficiency, and the sufficiency of Christ's mediation, that person has indeed a great deal the more reason to hope that God will grant that mercy than otherwise he would have; the greater probability is justly inferred from that, agreeable to the promises of the Holy Scripture, that the prayer is accepted and heard; and it is much more probable that a prayer that is heard will be returned with the particular mercy that is asked, than one that is not heard. And there is no reason at all to doubt but that God does sometimes especially enable to the exercises of faith, when the minds of his saints are engaged in thoughts of, and prayer for, some particular blessing they greatly desire; i.e. God is pleased especially to give 'em a believing frame, a sense of his fulness, and a spirit of humble dependence on him, at such times as when they are thinking of and praying for that mercy more than for other mercies; he gives 'em a particular sense of his ability to do that thing, and of the sufficiency of his power to overcome such and such obstacles, and the sufficiency of his mercy and of the blood of Christ for the removal of the guilt that is in the way of the bestowment of such a mercy in particular. When this is the case, it makes the probability still much greater that God intends to bestow the particular mercy sought, in his own time and his own way. But here is nothing of the nature of a revelation in the case, but only a drawing rational conclusions from the particular manner and circumstances of the ordinary gracious influences of God's Spirit. And as God is pleased sometimes to give his saints particular exercises of faith in his sufficiency, with regard to particular mercies they seek, so he is sometimes pleased to make use of his Word in order to it, and helps the actings of faith with respect to such a mercy by texts of Scripture that do especially exhibit the sufficiency of God's power or mercy in such a like case, or speak of such a manner of the exercise of God's strength and grace. The strengthening of their faith in God's sufficiency in this case, is therefore a just improvement of such Scriptures; it is no more than what those Scriptures, as they stand in the Bible, do hold forth just cause for. But to take them as new whispers or revelations from heaven is not making a just improvement of them. If persons have thus a spirit of prayer remarkably given them concerning a particular mercy from time to time, so as evidently to be assisted to act faith in God, in that particular, in a very distinguishing manner, the argument in some cases may be very strong that God does design [sic, deign?] to grant that mercy, not from any revelation now made of it, but from such a kind and manner of the ordinary influence of his Spirit, with respect to that thing. But here a great deal of caution and circumspection must be used in drawing inferences of this nature: there are many ways persons may be misled and deluded. The ground on which some expect that they shall receive the thing they have asked for, is rather a strong imagination, than any true humble faith in the divine sufficiency. They have a strong persuasion that the thing asked shall be granted (which they can give no reason for) without any remarkable discovery of that glory and fulness of God and Christ that is the ground of faith. And sometimes the confidence that persons have that their prayers shall be answered, is only a self-righteous confidence, and no true faith: they have a high conceit of themselves as eminent saints and special favorites of God, and have also a high conceit of the prayers they have made, because they were much enlarged and affected in them; and hence they are positive in it that the thing will come to pass. And sometimes when once they have conceived such a notion, they grow stronger and stronger in it; and this they think is from an immediate divine hand upon their minds to strengthen their confidence; whereas it is only by their dwelling in their minds on their own excellency, and high experiences, and great assistances, whereby they look brighter and brighter in their own eyes. Hence 'tis found by observation and experience, that nothing in the world exposes so much to enthusiasm as spiritual pride and self-righteousness. In order to drawing a just inference from the supposed assistance we have had in prayer for a particular mercy, and judging of the probability of the bestowment of that individual mercy, many things must be considered. We must consider the importance of the mercy sought, and the principle whence we so earnestly desire it; how far it is good and agreeable to the mind and will of God; the degree of love to God that we exercised in our prayer; the degree of discovery that is made of the divine sufficiency, and the degree in which our assistance is manifestly distinguishing with respect to that mercy. And there is nothing of greater importance in the argument than the degree of humility, poverty of spirit, self-emptiness and resignation to the holy will of God, which God gives us the exercise of in our seeking that mercy: praying for a particular mercy with much of these things, I have often seen blessed with a remarkable bestowment of the particular thing asked for. From what has been said, we may see which way God may, only by the ordinary gracious influences of his Spirit, sometimes give his saints special reason to hope for the bestowment of a particular mercy they desire and have prayed for, and which we may suppose he oftentimes gives eminent saints, that have great degrees of humility and much communion with God. And here, I humbly conceive, some eminent servants of Jesus Christ that have appeared in the church of God, that we read of in ecclesiastical story [history?], have been led into a mistake; and through want of distinguishing such things as these from immediate revelations, have thought that God has favored 'em, in some instances, with the same kind of divine influences that the apostles and prophets had of old. Another erroneous principle that some have embraced, that has been a source of many errors in their conduct, is that persons ought always to do whatsoever the Spirit of God (though but indirectly) inclines them to. Indeed the Spirit of God in itself is infinitely perfect, and all his immediate actings, simply considered, are perfect, and there can be nothing wrong in them; and therefore all that the Spirit of God inclines us to directly and immediately without the intervention of any other cause that shall pervert and misimprove what is from the Spirit of God, ought to be done; but there may be many things that we may be disposed to do, which disposition may indirectly be from the Spirit of God, that we ought not to do. The disposition in general may be good, and be from the Spirit of God, but the particular determination of that disposition, as to particular actions, objects and circumstances, may be ill, and not from the Spirit of God, but may be from the intervention or interposition of some infirmity, blindness, inadvertence, deceit or corruption of ours; so that although the disposition in general ought to be allowed and promoted, and all those actings of it that are simply from God's Spirit, yet the particular ill direction or determination of that disposition, which is from some other cause, ought not to be followed. As for instance, the Spirit of God may cause a person to have a dear love to another, and so a great desire of, and delight in his comfort, ease and pleasure: this disposition in general is good, and ought to be followed; but yet through the intervention of indiscretion, or some other bad cause, it may be ill directed, and have a bad determination, as to particular acts; and the person indirectly, through that real love that he has to his neighbor, may kill him with kindness; he may do that out of sincere good will to him that may tend to ruin him. A good disposition may through some inadvertence or delusion, strongly incline a person to that, which if he saw all things as they are, would be most contrary to that disposition. The true loyalty of a general, and his zeal for the honor of his prince, may exceedingly animate him in war; but yet this that is a good disposition, through indiscretion and mistake, may push him forward to those things that give the enemy great advantage, and may expose him and his army to ruin, and may tend to the ruin of his master's interest. The Apostle does evidently suppose that the Spirit of God in his extraordinary, immediate and miraculous influences on men's minds, may in some respect excite inclinations in men, that if gratified, would tend to confusion, and therefore must sometimes be restrained, and in their exercise, must be under the government of discretion. 1 Corinthians 14:31–33, "For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted. And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets; for God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints." Here by "the spirits of the prophets," according to the known phraseology of the Apostle, is meant the Spirit of God acting in the prophets, according to those special gifts with which each one was endowed. And here it is plainly implied that the Spirit of God, thus operating in them, may be an occasion of their having sometimes an inclination to do that, in the exercise of those gifts, which it was not proper, decent or profitable that they should; and that therefore the inclination, though indirectly from the Spirit of God, should be restrained, and that it ought to be subject to the discretion of the prophets, as to the particular time and circumstances of its exercise. I can make no doubt but that it is possible for a minister to have given him by the Spirit of God such a sense of the importance of eternal things, and of the misery of mankind, that are so many of them exposed to eternal destruction, together with such a love to souls, that he might find in himself a disposition to spend all his time, day and night, in warning, exhorting and calling upon men, and so that he must be obliged as it were to do violence to himself ever to refrain, so as to give himself any opportunity to eat, drink or sleep. And so I believe there may be a disposition in like manner, indirectly excited in lay persons, through the intervention of their infirmity, to do what only belongs to ministers; yea, to do those things that would not become either ministers or people: through the influence of the Spirit of God, together with want of discretion and some remaining corruption, women and children might feel themselves inclined to break forth and scream aloud to great congregations, warning and exhorting the whole multitude, and to go forth and halloo and scream in the streets, or to leave the families they belong to, and go from house to house, earnestly exhorting others; but yet it would by no means follow that it was their duty to do these things, or that they would not have a tendency to do ten times as much hurt as good. Another wrong principle from whence have arisen errors in conduct is, that whatsoever is found to be of present and immediate benefit, may and ought to be practiced without looking forward to future consequences. Some persons seem to think that it sufficiently justifies anything that they say or do that it is found to be for their present edification, and the edification of those that are with them; it assists and promotes their present affection, and therefore they think they should not concern themselves about future consequences, but leave them with God. Indeed, in things that are in themselves our duty, being required by moral rules, or absolute positive commands of God, they must be done, and future consequences must be left with God; our election and discretion takes no place here: but in other things we are to be governed by discretion, and must not only look at the present good, but our view must be extensive, and we must look at the consequence of things. 'Tis the duty of ministers especially to exercise this discretion: in things wherein they are not determined by an absolute rule, and that are not enjoined them by a wisdom superior to their own, Christ has left them to their own discretion, with that general rule that they should exercise the utmost wisdom they can obtain in pursuing that, which upon the best view of the consequences of things they can get, will tend most to the advancement of his kingdom. This is implied in those words of Christ to his disciples, when he sent 'em forth to preach the Gospel, Matthew 10:16, "Be ye wise as serpents." The Scripture always represents the work of a Gospel minister by those employments that do especially require a wise foresight of, and provision for, future events and consequences. So it is compared to the business of a steward, that is a business that in an eminent manner requires forecast, and a wise laying in of provision for the supply of the needs of the family, according to its future necessities; and a good minister is called a wise steward.[Cf. Luke 18:42, though the reference of this verse to ministers is questionable.] So 'tis compared to the business of an husbandman, that almost wholly consists in those things that are done with a view to the future fruits and consequences of his labor: the husbandman's discretion and forecast is eloquently set forth in Isaiah 28:24–26, "Doth the plowman plow all day to sow? Doth he open and break the clods of his ground? When he hath made plain the face thereof, doth he not cast abroad the fitches, and scatter the cummin, and cast in the principal wheat, and the appointed barley, and the rye, in their place? For his God doth instruct him to discretion, and doth teach him." So the work of the ministry is compared to that of a wise builder or architect, who has a long reach and comprehensive view; and for whom it is necessary, that when he begins a building, he should have at once a view of the whole frame, and all the future parts of the structure, even to the pinnacle, that all may fitly be framed together [1 Corinthians 3:10; Ephesians 2:21]. So also it is compared to the business of a trader or merchant, who is to gain by trading with the money that he begins with: this also is a business that exceedingly requires forecast, and without it, is never like to be followed with any success for any long time [Matthew 25:14–30]. So 'tis represented by the business of a fisherman, which depends on craft and subtlety [Matthew 4:19]. 'Tis also compared to the business of a soldier that goes to war, which is a business that perhaps, above any other secular business, requires great foresight and a wise provision for future events and consequences [2 Timothy 2:3]. And particularly ministers ought not to be careless how much they discompose and ruffle the minds of those that they esteem natural men, or how great an uproar they raise in the carnal world, and so lay blocks in the way of the propagation of religion. This certainly is not to follow the example of that zealous Apostle Paul, who though he would not depart from his enjoined duty to please carnal men, yet wherein he might with a good conscience, did exceedingly lay out himself to please them, and if possible to avoid raising in the multitude prejudices, oppositions and tumults against the Gospel; and looked upon it that it was of great consequence that it should be, if possible, avoided. 1 Corinthians 10:32–33, "Give none offense, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God: even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved." Yea, he declares that he laid himself out so much for this, that he made himself a kind of a servant to all sorts of men, conforming to their customs and various humors, in everything wherein he might, even in things that were very burdensome to him, that he might not fright men away from Christianity and cause them to stand as it were braced and armed against it, but on the contrary, if possible, might with condescension and friendship win and draw them to it; as you may see, 1 Corinthians 9:19–23. And agreeable hereto, are the directions he gives to others, both ministers and people. So he directs the Christian Romans not to please themselves, but everyone [to] please his neighbor for his good, to edification, Romans 15:1–2, and to follow after the things that make for peace, chap. Romans 14:19. And he presses it in terms exceeding strong, Romans 12:18, "If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men." And he directs ministers to endeavor if possible, to gain opposers by a meek condescending treatment, avoiding all appearance of strife or fierceness, 2 Timothy 2:24–26. To the like purpose, the same Apostle directs Christians to walk in wisdom towards them that are without, Colossians 4:5, and to avoid giving offense to others if we can, that our good mayn't be evil spoken of, Romans 14:16. So that 'tis evident that the great and most zealous and most successful propagator of vital religion that ever was, looked upon it to be of great consequence to endeavor, as much as possible, by all the methods of lawful meekness and gentleness, to avoid raising the prejudice and opposition of the world against religion. When we have done our utmost there will be opposition enough against vital religion, against which the carnal mind of man has such an enmity (we should not therefore needlessly increase and raise that enmity); as in the Apostle's days, though he took so much pains to please men, yet because he was faithful and thorough in his work, persecution almost everywhere was raised against him. A fisherman is careful not needlessly to ruffle and disturb the water, lest he should drive the fish away from his net; but he'll rather endeavor if possible to draw them into it. Such a fisherman was the Apostle. 2 Corinthians 12:15–16, "And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved. But be it so, I did not burden you; nevertheless, being crafty, I caught you with guile." The necessity of suffering persecution in order to being a true Christian, has undoubtedly by some been carried to an extreme, and the doctrine has been abused. It has been looked upon necessary to uphold a man's credit amongst others as a Christian, that he should be persecuted. I have heard it made an objection against the sincerity of particular persons that they were no more hated and reproached. And the manner of glorying in persecution, or the cross of Christ, has in some been very wrong, so as has had too much of an appearance of lifting up themselves in it, that they were very much hated and reviled, more than most, as an evidence of their excelling others in being good soldiers of Jesus Christ. Such an improvement of the doctrine of the enmity between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent [Genesis 3:15], and of the necessity of persecution, becoming credible and customary, has a direct tendency to cause those that would be accounted true Christians to behave themselves so towards those that are not well affected to religion as to provoke their hatred, or at least to be but little careful to avoid it, and not very studiously and earnestly to strive (after the Apostle's example and precepts) to please them to their edification, and by meekness and gentleness to win them, and by all possible means to live peaceably with them. I believe that saying of our Saviour, "I came not to send peace on earth, but division" [Luke 12:51; cf. also Matthew 10:34], has been abused; as though when we see great strife and division arise about religion, and violent heats of spirit against the truly pious, and a loud clamor and uproar against the work of God, it was to be rejoiced in, because it is that which Christ came to send. It has almost been laid down as a maxim by some, that the more division and strife, the better sign; which naturally leads persons to seek it and provoke it, or leads 'em to, and encourages 'em in such a manner of behavior, such a roughness and sharpness, or such an affected neglect, as has a natural tendency to raise prejudice and opposition; instead of striving, as the Apostle did to his utmost, by all meekness, gentleness and benevolence of behavior, to prevent or assuage it. Christ came to send a sword on earth, and to cause division, no otherwise than he came to send damnation; for Christ that is set for the glorious restoration of some is set for the fall of others [Luke 2:34], and to be a stone of stumbling and rock of offense to them [Isaiah 8:14; 1 Peter 2:8], and an occasion of their vastly more aggravated and terrible damnation [Matthew 12:41–42]; and this is always the consequence of a great outpouring of the Spirit and revival of vital religion: it is the means of the salvation of some, and the more aggravated damnation of others. But certainly this is no just argument that men's exposedness to damnation is not to be lamented, or that we should not exert ourselves to our utmost, in all the methods that we can devise, that others might be saved, and to avoid all such behavior towards 'em as tends to lead 'em down to hell. I know there is naturally a great enmity in the heart of man against vital religion; and I believe there would have been a great deal of opposition against this glorious work of God in New England if the subjects and promoters of it had behaved themselves never so agreeably to Christian rules; and I believe if this work goes on and spreads much in the world, so as to begin to shake kingdoms and nations, it will dreadfully stir up the rage of earth and hell, and will put the world into the greatest uproar that ever it was in since it stood; I believe Satan's dying struggles will be the most violent. But yet I believe a great deal might be done to restrain this opposition, by a good conformity to that of the Apostle James, James 3:13, "Who is a wise man, and endued with knowledge [among you]? Let him shew out of a good conversation, his works, with meekness of wisdom." And I also believe that if the rules of Christian charity, meekness, gentleness and prudence had been duly observed by the generality of the zealous promoters of this work, it would have made three times the progress that it has; i.e. if it had pleased God in such a case, to give a blessing to means in proportion as he has done. Under this head of carelessness of the future consequences of things, it may be proper to say something of introducing things new and strange, and that have a tendency by their novelty to shock and surprise people. Nothing can be more evident from the New Testament, than that such things ought to be done with great caution and moderation, to avoid the offense that may be thereby given, and the prejudices that might be raised, to clog and hinder the progress of religion: yea, that it ought to be thus in things that are in themselves good and excellent, and of great weight, provided they are not things that are of the nature of absolute duty, which though they may appear to be innovations, yet can't be neglected without immorality or disobedience to the commands of God. What great caution and moderation did the apostles use in introducing things that were new, and abolishing things that were old in their day? How gradually were the ceremonial performances of the law of Moses removed and abolished among the Christian Jews? And how long did even the Apostle Paul himself conform to those ceremonies which he calls "weak and beggarly elements" [Galatians 4:9]? Yea, even to the rite of circumcision (Acts 16:3) that he speaks so much in his epistles of the worthlessness of, that he might not prejudice the Jews against Christianity? So it seems to have been very gradually that the Jewish Sabbath was abolished, and the Christian Sabbath introduced, for the same reason. And the apostles avoided teaching the Christians in those early days, at least for a great while, some high and excellent divine truths, because they could not bear 'em yet, 1 Corinthians 3:1–2; Hebrews 5:11 to the end. Thus strictly did the apostles observe the rule that their blessed Master gave them, of not putting new wine into old bottles, lest they should burst the bottles and lose the wine [Matthew 9:17 and parallels]. And how did Christ himself, while on earth, forbear so plainly to teach his disciples the great doctrines of Christianity, concerning his satisfaction, and the nature and manner of a sinner's justification and reconciliation with God, and the particular benefits of his death, resurrection and ascension, because in that infant state the disciples were then in, their minds were not prepared for such instructions; and therefore the more clear and full revelation of these things was reserved for the time when their minds should be further enlightened and strengthened by the outpouring of the Spirit after his ascension? John 16:12–13, "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now: howbeit, when he, the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth." And Mark 4:33, "And with many such parables spake he the word unto them, as they were able to bear [sic, hear] it." These things might be enough to convince anyone, that don't think himself wiser than Christ and his apostles, that great prudence and caution should be used in introducing things into the church of God that are very uncommon, though in themselves they may be very excellent, lest by our rashness and imprudent haste we hinder religion much more than we help it. Persons that are influenced by an indiscreet zeal are always in too much haste; they are impatient of delays, and therefore are for jumping to the uppermost step first, before they have taken the preceding steps; whereby they expose themselves to fall and break their bones. It is a thing very taking with them to see the building rise very high, and all their endeavor and strength is employed in advancing the building in height, without taking care withal proportionably to enlarge the bottom; whereby the whole is in danger of coming to the ground; or they are for putting on the cupola and pinnacle before they are come to it, or before the lower parts of the building are done; which tends at once to put a stop to the building, and hinder its ever being a complete structure. Many that are thus imprudent and hasty with their zeal have a real eager appetite for that which is good; but are like children that are impatient to wait for the fruit till the proper season of it, and therefore snatch it before it is ripe: oftentimes in their haste they overshoot their mark, and frustrate their own end; they put that which they would obtain further out of reach than it was before, and establish and confirm that which they would remove. Things must have time to ripen: the prudent husbandman waits till he has received the former and the latter rain, and till the harvest is ripe, before he reaps. We are now just as it were beginning to recover out of a dreadful disease that we have been long under; and to feed a man recovering from a fever with strong meat at once, is the ready way to kill him. The reformation from popery was much hindered by this hasty zeal: many were for immediately rectifying all disorders by force, which were condemned by Luther, and were a great trouble to him. See Sleiden's History of the Reformation, page 52, etc., and Book V throughout.[Johannes Philippi Sleidanus (1506–56) wrote Commentariorum de statu religionis et reipublicae, Carolo Quinto Caesare, libri XXVI in 1555. English translations were John Daus, A Famous Chronicle of Our Time (1560), and Edmund Bohun, The General History of the Reformation of the Church from the Errors and Corruptions of the Church of Rome (1689). JE used the latter. Sleiden's account of Protestant excesses, to which JE shrewdly refers, had angered many Protestants during the Reformation era.] It is a vain prejudice that some have lately imbibed against such rules of prudence and moderation: they will be forced to come to 'em at last; they'll find themselves that they are not able to maintain their cause without 'em; and if they won't hearken before, experience will convince 'em at last, when it will be too late for them to rectify their mistake. Another error that is of the nature of an erroneous principle, that some have gone upon, is a wrong notion that they have of an attestation of divine providence to persons or things. We go too far when we look upon the success that God gives to some persons, in making them the instruments of doing much good, as a testimony of God's approbation of those persons and all the courses they take. It is a main argument that has been made use of to defend the conduct of some of those ministers, that have been blamed as imprudent and irregular, that God has smiled upon them and blessed them, and given them great success, and that however men charge them as guilty of many wrong things, yet 'tis evident that God is with them, and then who can be against them [Romans 8:31]? And probably some of those ministers themselves, by this very means, have had their ears stopped against all that has been said to convince 'em of their misconduct. But there are innumerable ways that persons may be misled, in forming a judgment of the mind and will of God, from the events of providence. If a person's success be a reward of something that God sees in him, that he approves of, yet 'tis no argument that he approves of everything in him. Who can tell how far the divine grace may go in greatly rewarding some small good that he sees in a person, a good meaning, something good in his disposition, while he at the same time, in sovereign mercy, hides his eyes from a great deal that is bad, that 'tis his pleasure to forgive, and not to mark against the person, though in itself it be very ill? God has not told us after what manner he will proceed in this matter, and we go upon most uncertain grounds when we undertake to determine. It is an exceeding difficult thing to know how far love or hatred are exercised towards persons or actions, by all that is before us. God was pleased in his sovereignty to give such success to Jacob in that, which from beginning to end was a deceitful, lying contrivance and proceeding of his, that in that way, he obtained that blessing that was worth infinitely more than the fatness of the earth and the dew of heaven, that was given to Esau, in his blessing; yea, worth more than all that the world can afford [Genesis 27–Genesis 33]. God was for a while with Judas, so that he by God's power accompanying him, wrought miracles and cast out devils; but this could not justly be interpreted as God's approbation of his person, or his thievery that he lived in at the same time [Matthew 10:1–4; John 12:6]. The dispensations and events of providence, with their reasons, are too little understood by us to be improved by us as our rule, instead of God's Word; God has his "way in the sea, and his path in the mighty waters, and his footsteps are not known" [Psalms 77:19; Isaiah 43:16]; and he gives us "no account of any of his matters" [Job 33:13]; and therefore we can't safely take the events of his providence as a revelation of his mind concerning a person's conduct and behavior; we have no warrant so to do, God has never appointed those things, but something else to be our rule; we have but one rule to go by, and that is his Holy Word, and when we join anything else with it as having the force of a rule, we are guilty of that which is strictly forbidden, Deuteronomy 4:2, Proverbs 30:6, and Revelation 22:18. They who make what they imagine is pointed forth to 'em in providence their rule of behavior, do err, as well as those that follow impulses and impressions: we should put nothing in the room of the Word of God. It is to be feared that some have been greatly confirmed and emboldened by the great success that God has given them, in some things that have really been contrary to the rules of God's Holy Word. If it has been so, they have been guilty of presumption, and abusing God's kindness to them, and the great honor he has put upon them: they have seen that God was with them, and made them victorious in their preaching; and this it is to be feared has been abused by some to a degree of self-confidence; it has much taken off all jealousy of themselves; they have been bold therefore to go great lengths, in a presumption that God was with them, and would defend them, and finally baffle all that found fault with them. Indeed, there is a voice of God in his providence, that may be interpreted and well understood by the rule of his Word; and providence may, to our dark minds and weak faith, confirm the Word of God as it fulfills it: but to improve divine providence thus, is quite a different thing from making a rule of providence. There is a good use may be made of the events of providence, of our own observation and experience, and human histories, and the opinion of the Fathers and other eminent men; but finally all must be brought to one rule, viz. the Word of God, and that must be regarded as our only rule. Nor do I think that they go upon sure ground that conclude that they have not been in an error in their conduct, because that at the time of their doing a thing, for which they have been blamed and reproached by others, they were favored with special comforts of God's Spirit. God's bestowing special spiritual mercies on a person at such a time, is no sign that he approves of everything that he sees in him at that time. David had very much of the presence of God while he lived in polygamy: and Solomon had some very high favors and peculiar smiles of heaven, and particularly at the dedication of the temple, while he greatly multiplied wives to himself, and horses, and silver and gold; all contrary to the most express command of God to the king, in the law of Moses, Deuteronomy 17:16–17. We can't tell how far God may hide his eyes from beholding iniquity in Jacob, and seeing perverseness in Israel [Numbers 23:21]. We can't tell what are the reasons of God's actions any further than he interprets for himself. God sometimes gave some of the primitive Christians the extraordinary influence of his Spirit, when they were out of the way of their duty; and continued it while they were abusing it; as is plainly implied, 1 Corinthians 14:31–33. Yea, if a person has done a thing for which he is reproached, and that reproach be an occasion of his feeling sweet exercises of grace in his soul, and that from time to time, I don't think that is a certain evidence that God approves of the thing he is blamed for. For undoubtedly a mistake may be the occasion of stirring up the exercise of grace, in a man that has grace. If a person, through mistake, thinks he has received some particular great mercy, that mistake may be the occasion of stirring up the sweet exercises of love to God, and true thankfulness and joy in God. As for instance, if one that is full of love to God should hear credible tidings concerning a remarkable deliverance of a child or other dear friend, or of some glorious thing done for the City of God, no wonder if, on such an occasion, the sweet actings of love to God and delight in God should be excited, though indeed afterwards it should prove a false report that he heard. So if one that loves God is much maligned and reproached for doing that which he thinks God required and approves, no wonder that it is sweet to such an one to think that God is his friend, though men are his enemies; no wonder at all, that this is an occasion of his, as it were, leaving the world, and sweetly betaking himself to God as his sure friend, and finding sweet complacence in God; though he be indeed in a mistake concerning that which he thought was agreeable to God's will. As I have before shewn that the exercise of a truly good affection may be the occasion of error, and may indirectly incline a person to that which is wrong; [Above, pp. 316–25.] so on the other hand, error, or a doing that which is wrong, may be an occasion of the exercise of a truly good affection. The reason of it is this, that however all exercises of grace be from the Spirit of God, yet the Spirit of God dwells and acts in the hearts of the saints, in some measure after the manner of a vital, natural principle, a principle of new nature in them; whose exercises are excited by means, in some measure as other natural principles are. Though grace ben't in the saints as a mere natural principle, but as a sovereign agent, and so its exercises are not tied to means by an immutable law of nature, as in mere natural principles; yet God has so constituted that grace should dwell so in the hearts of the saints, that its exercises should have some degree of connection with means, after the manner of a principle of nature. Another erroneous principle that there has been something of, and that has been an occasion of some mischief and confusion, is that external order in matters of religion and use of the means of grace is but little to be regarded: 'tis spoken lightly of, under the names of ceremonies and dead forms, etc. And [it] is probably the more despised by some because their opposers insist so much upon it, and because they are so continually hearing from them the cry of disorder and confusion. 'Tis objected against the importance of external order that God don't look at the outward form, he looks at the heart: but that is a weak argument against its importance, that true godliness don't consist in it; for it may be equally made use of against all the outward means of grace whatsoever. True godliness don't consist in ink and paper, but yet that would be a foolish objection against the importance of ink and paper in religion, when without it we could not have the Word of God. If any external means at all are needful, any outward actions of a public nature, or wherein God's people are jointly concerned in public society, without doubt external order is needful: the management of an external affair that is public, or wherein a multitude is concerned without order, is in everything found impossible. Without order there can be no general direction of a multitude to any particular designed end; their purposes will cross one another, and they won't help but hinder one another. A multitude can't act in union one with another without order; confusion separates and divides them, so that there can be no concert or agreement. If a multitude would help one another in any affair, they must unite themselves one to another in a regular subordination of members, in some measure as it is in the natural body; by this means they will be in some capacity to act with united strength: and thus Christ has appointed that it should be in the visible church, as 1 Corinthians 12:14 to the end, and Romans 12:4–8.
Zeal without order will do but little, or at least it will be effectual but a little while. Let a company that are very zealous against the enemy go forth to war without any manner of order, everyone rushing forward as his zeal shall drive him, all in confusion, if they gain something at first onset, by surprising the enemy, yet how soon do they come to nothing, and fall an easy helpless prey to their adversaries? Order is one of the most necessary of all external means of the spiritual good of God's church; and therefore it is requisite even in heaven itself, where there is the least need of any external means of grace; order is maintained amongst the glorious angels there. And the necessity of it in order to the carrying on any design wherein a multitude are concerned, is so great that even the devils in hell are driven to something of it, that they may carry on the designs of their kingdom. And 'tis very observable that those kinds of irrational creatures, for whom it is needful that they should act in union and join a multitude together to carry on any work for their preservation, they do by a wonderful instinct that God has put into them observe and maintain a most regular and exact order among themselves; such as bees and some others. And order in the visible church is not only necessary to the carrying on the designs of Christ's glory and the church's prosperity, but it is absolutely necessary to its defense; without it, it's like a city without walls, and can be in no capacity to defend itself from any kind of mischief: and so however it be an external thing, yet is not to be despised on that account; for though it ben't the food of souls, yet it is in some respect their defense. The people of Holland would be very foolish to despise the dikes that keep out the sea from overwhelming them, under the names of dead stones and vile earth, because the matter of which they are built is not good to eat. It seems to be partly on the foundation of this notion of the Worthlessness of external order, that some have seemed to act on that principle that the power of judging and openly censuring others should not be reserved in the hands of particular persons, or consistories appointed thereto, but ought to be left at large for anybody that pleases to take it upon them, or that think themselves fit for it; but more of this afterwards—[Below, pp. 474–83.] On this foundation also, an orderly attending on the stated worship of God in families has been made too light of; and it has been in some places too much of a common and customary thing to be absent from family worship, and to be abroad late in night at religious meetings, or to attend religious conversation. Not but that this may be, on certain extraordinary occasions; I have seen the case to be such in many instances, that I have thought did afford sufficient warrant for persons to be absent from family prayer, and to be from home till very late in the night: but we should take heed that this don't become a custom or common practice; if it should be so, we shall soon find the consequences to be very ill. It seems to be on the same foundation of the supposed unprofitableness of external order, that it has been thought by some that there is no need that such and such religious services and performances should be limited to any certain office in the church (of which more afterwards); [Below, pp. 483–88.] and also that those offices themselves, as particularly that of the Gospel ministry, need not be limited as it used to be, to persons of a liberal education; but some of late have been for having others, that they have supposed to be persons of eminent experience, publicly licensed to preach, yea, and ordained to the work of the ministry; and some ministers have seemed to favor such a thing: but how little do they seem to look forward, and consider the unavoidable consequences of opening such a door? If once it should become a custom, or a thing generally approved and allowed of, to admit persons to the work of the ministry that have had no education for it, because of their remarkable experiences, and being persons of good understanding, how many lay persons would soon appear as candidates for the work of the ministry? I doubt not but that I have been acquainted with scores that would have desired it. And how shall we know where to stop? If one is admitted because his experiences are remarkable, another will think his experiences also remarkable; and we perhaps shall not be able to deny but that they are near as great: if one is admitted because besides experiences, he has good natural abilities, another, by himself and many of his neighbors, may be thought equal to him. It will be found of absolute necessity that there should be some certain, visible limits fixed, to avoid bringing odium upon ourselves, and breeding uneasiness and strife amongst others; and I know of none better, and indeed no other that can well be fixed, than those that the prophet Zechariah fixes, viz. that only should be appointed to be pastors or shepherds in God's church that have been taught to keep cattle from their youth, or that have had an education for that purpose.[Zechariah 13:5; see above, p. 434.] Those ministers that have a disposition to break over these limits, if they should do so, and make a practice of it, would break down that fence which they themselves after a while, after they have been wearied with the ill consequences, would be glad to have somebody else build up for them. Not but that there may probably be some persons in the land, that have had no education at college, that are in themselves better qualified for the work of the ministry than some others that have taken their degrees, and are now ordained. But yet I believe the breaking over those bounds that have hitherto been set, in ordaining such persons, would in its consequences be a greater calamity, than the missing such persons in the work of the ministry. The opening a door for the admission of unlearned men to the work of the ministry, though they should be persons of extraordinary experience, would on some accounts be especially prejudicial at such a day as this; because such persons, for want of an extensive knowledge, are oftentimes forward to lead others into those things which a people are in danger of at such a time, above all other times, viz. impulses, vain imaginations, superstition, indiscreet zeal, and such like extremes; instead of defending them from them, for which a people especially need a shepherd at such an extraordinary season. Another erroneous principle that it seems to me some have been, at least, in danger of, is that ministers, because they speak as Christ's ambassadors, may assume the same style and speak as with the same authority that the prophets of old did, yea, that Jesus Christ himself did in the Matthew 23 [chapter] of Matthew, "Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, etc." and other places; and that not only when they are speaking to the people, but also to their brethren in the ministry. Which principle is absurd, because it makes no difference in the different degrees and orders of messengers that God has sent into the world, though God has made a very great difference: for though they all come in some respect in the name of God, and with something of his authority, yet certainly there is a vast difference in the degree of authority with which God has invested them. Jesus Christ was one that was sent into the world as God's messenger, and so was one of his apostles, and so also is an ordinary pastor of a church; but yet it don't follow that because Jesus Christ and an ordinary minister are both messengers of God, that therefore an ordinary minister in his office is vested with an equal degree of authority that Christ was in his. As there is a great difference in their authority, and as Christ came as God's messenger in a vastly higher manner, so another style became him, more authoritative than is proper for us worms of the dust, though we also are messengers of inferior degree. It would be strange if God, when he has made so great a difference in the degree in which he has invested different messengers with his authority, should make no difference as to the outward appearance and shew of authority, in style and behavior, which is proper and fit to be seen in them. Though God has put great honor upon ministers, and they may speak as his ambassadors, yet he never intended that they should have the same outward appearance of authority and majesty, either in their behavior or speech, that his Son shall have when he comes to judgment at the last day, though both come, in different respects and degrees, in the name of the Lord. Alas! Can anything ever make it enter into the hearts of worms of the dust that it is fit and suitable that it should be so? [3] Thus I have considered the two first of those three causes of error in conduct that were mentioned. I come now to the third and last cause of the errors of those that have appeared to be the subjects of zealous promoters of this work, viz. a being ignorant or unobservant of some particular things, by which the Devil has special advantage. And here I would particularly take notice (1) of some things with respect to the inward experiences of Christians themselves; and (2) something with regard to the external effects of experiences. (1) There are three things I would take notice of with regard to the experiences of Christians, by which the Devil has many advantages against us. A. The first thing is the mixture there oftentimes is in the experiences of true Christians; whereby when they have truly gracious experiences, and divine and spiritual discoveries and exercises, they have something else mixed with them besides what is spiritual: there is a mixture of that which is natural, and that which is corrupt, with that which is divine. This is what Christians are liable to in the present exceeding imperfect state: the great imperfection of grace, and feebleness and infancy of the new nature, and the great remains of corruption, together with the circumstances we are in in this world, where we are encompassed all round with what tends to pollute us, exposes to this. And indeed, it is not to be supposed that Christians ever have any experiences in this world that are wholly pure, entirely spiritual, without any mixture of what is natural and carnal. The beam of light, as it comes from the fountain of light upon our hearts, is pure, but as it is reflected thence, it is mixed: the seed as sent from heaven and planted in the heart, is pure, but as it springs up out of the heart, is impure; yea, there is commonly a much greater mixture, than persons for the most part seem to have any imagination of; I have often thought that the experiences of true Christians are very frequently as it is with some sorts of fruits, that are enveloped in several coverings of thick shells or pods, that are thrown away by him that gathers the fruit, and but a very small part of the whole bulk is the pure kernel that is good to eat. The things, of all which there is frequently some mixture with gracious experiences, yea, with very great and high experiences, are these three: human, or natural affection and passion; impressions on the imagination; and a degree of self-righteousness or spiritual pride. There is very often with that which is spiritual a great mixture of that affection or passion which arises from natural principles: so that nature has a very great hand in those vehement motions and flights of the passions that appear. Hence the same degrees of divine communications from heaven shall have vastly different effects, in what outwardly appears, in persons of different natural tempers. The great mixture of that which is natural with that which is spiritual, is very manifest in the peculiar effects that divine influences have in some certain families, or persons of such a blood, in a distinguishing manner of the operating of the passions and affections, and the manner of the outward expressions of 'em. I know some remarkable instances of this. The same is also evident by the different effects of divine communication the same person at different times, and in different circumstances: the novelty of things, or the sudden transition from an opposite extreme, and many other things that might be mentioned, greatly contribute to the raising of the passions. And sometimes there is not only a mixture of that which is common and natural with gracious experience, but even that which is animal, that which is in a great measure from the body, and is properly the result of the animal frame. In what true Christians feel of affections towards God, all is not always purely holy and divine; everything that is felt in the affections don't arise from spiritual principles, but common and natural principles have a very great hand; an improper self-love may have a great share in the effect: God is not loved for his own sake, or for the excellency and beauty of his own perfections as he ought to be; nor have these things in any wise that proportion in the effect that they ought to have. So in that love that true Christians have one to another, very often there is a great mixture of what arises from common and natural principles, with grace; and self-love has a great hand: the children of God ben't loved purely for Christ's sake, but there may be a great mixture of that natural love that many sects of heretics have boasted of, who have been greatly united one to another because they were of their company, on their side, against the rest of the world; yea, there may be a mixture of natural love to the opposite sex, with Christian and divine love. So there may be a great mixture in that sorrow for sin that the godly have; and also in their joys; natural principles may greatly contribute to what is felt, a great many ways, as might easily be shown, would it not make my discourse too lengthy. There is nothing that belongs to Christian experience that is more liable to a corrupt mixture than zeal; though it be an excellent virtue, a heavenly flame, when it is pure: but as it is exercised in those who are so little sanctified, and so little humbled, as we are in the present state, 'tis very apt to mixed with human passion, yea, with corrupt hateful affections, pride and uncharitable bitterness, and other things that are not from heaven but from hell. Another thing that is often mixed with what is spiritual in the experiences of Christians are impressions on the imagination; whereby godly persons, together with a spiritual understanding of divine things and conviction of their reality and certainty, and a strong and deep sense of their excellency or great importance upon their hearts, have strongly impressed on their minds external ideas or images of things. A degree of imagination in a such case, as I have observed elsewhere, [In Distinguishing Marks; above, pp. 235–38.] is unavoidable, and necessarily arises from human nature as constituted in the present state; and a degree of imagination is really useful, and often is of great benefit; but when it is in too great a degree it becomes an impure mixture that is prejudicial. This mixture very often arises from the constitution of the body. It commonly greatly contributes to other kind of mixture mentioned before, viz. of natural affections and passions; it helps to raise them to a great height. Another thing that is often mixed with the experiences of true Christians, which is the worst mixture of all, is a degree of self-righteousness or spiritual pride. This is often mixed with the joys of Christians: the joy that they have is not purely the joy of faith, or a rejoicing in Christ Jesus, but is partly a rejoicing in themselves. There is oftentimes in their elevations a looking upon themselves, and a viewing their own high attainments; they rejoice partly because they are taken with their own experiences and great discoveries, which makes 'em in their own apprehensions so to excel; and this heightens all their passions, and especially those effects that are more external. There is a much greater mixture of these things in the experiences of some Christians than others; in some the mixture is so great as very much to obscure and hide the beauty of grace in them, like a thick smoke that hinders all the shining of the fire. These things we ought to be well aware of, that we mayn't take all for gold that glisters, and that we may know what to countenance and encourage, and what to discourage; otherwise Satan will have a vast advantage against us, for he works in the corrupt mixture. Sometimes for want of persons distinguishing the ore from the pure metal, those experiences are most admired by the persons themselves that are the subjects of them, and by others, that are not the most excellent. The great external effects and vehemence of the passions, and violent agitations of the animal spirits, is sometimes much owing to the corrupt mixture (as is very apparent in some instances); though it be not always so. I have observed a great difference among those that are under high affections, and seem disposed to be earnestly talking to those that are about them; some insist much more, in their talk, on what they behold in God and Christ, the glory of the divine perfections, Christ's beauty and excellency, and wonderful condescension and grace, and their own unworthiness, and the great and infinite obligations that they themselves and others are under to love and serve God; some [others] insist almost wholly on their own high privileges, their assurance of God's love and favor, and the weakness and wickedness of opposers, and how much they are above their reach. The latter may have much of the presence of God, but their experiences don't appear to be so solid and unmixed as the former And there is a great deal of difference in persons' earnestness in their talk and behavior; in some it seems to come indeed from the fullness of their hearts, and from the great sense they have of truth, a deep sense of the certainty and infinite greatness, excellency and importance of divine and eternal things, attended with all appearances of great humility; in others their earnestness seems to arise from a great mixture of human passion, and an undue and intemperate agitation of the spirits, which appears by their earnestness and vehemence not being proportioned to the nature of the subject they insist on, but they are violent in everything they say, as much when they are talking of things of smaller importance, as when speaking of things of greater weight. I have seen it thus in an instance or two, in which this vehemence at length issued in distraction. And there have been some few instances of a more extraordinary nature still, even of persons finding themselves disposed earnestly to talk and cry out, from an unaccountable kind of bodily pressure, without any extraordinary view of anything in their minds, or sense of anything upon their hearts; wherein probably there was the immediate hand of the Devil. B. Another thing by which the Devil has great advantage, is the unheeded defects there sometimes are in the experiences of true Christians, and those high affections wherein there is much that is truly good. What I now have respect to is something diverse from that defect, or imperfection of degree, which is in every holy disposition and exercise in this life, in the best of the saints. What I aim at is experiences being especially defective in some particular thing that ought to be in them; which though it ben't an essential defect, or such a defect as is in the experiences of hypocrites, which renders them utterly vain, monstrous, and altogether abominable to God, yet is such a defect as maims and deforms the experience; the essence of truly Christian experiences is not wanting, but yet that is wanting that is very needful in order to the proper beauty of the image of Christ in such a person's experiences; but things are much out of a due proportion: there is indeed much of some things, but at the same time there is so little of some other things that should bear a proportion, that the defect very much deforms the Christian, and is truly odious in the sight of God. What I observed before was something that deformed the Christian, as it was too much, something mixed, that is not belonging to the Christian as such; what I speak of now is something that deforms the Christian the other way, viz. by there not being enough, something wanting, that does belong to the Christian as such: the one deforms the Christian as a monstrous excrescence, the other thereby the new creature is maimed, and some member in a great measure wanting, or so small and withering as to be very much out of due proportion. This is another spiritual calamity that the saints are liable to through the great imperfection of grace in this life; like the chicken in the egg, in the beginning of its formation, in which, though there are indeed the rudiments or lineaments of all the parts, yet some few parts are plain to be seen when others are hid, so that without a microscope it appears very monstrous. When this deficiency and disproportion is great, as sometimes it is in real saints, it is not only a great deformity in itself, but has many ill consequences; it gives the Devil great advantage, and leaves a door open for corruption, and exposes to very deformed and unlovely actions, and issues oftentimes in the great wounding of the soul. For the better understanding of this matter, we may observe that God in the revelation that he has made of himself to the world by Jesus Christ, has taken care to give a proportionable manifestation of two kinds of excellencies or perfections of his nature, viz. those that especially tend to possess us with awe and reverence, and to search and humble us, and those that tend to win and draw encourage us. By the one he appears as an infinitely great, pure, holy and heart-searching Judge; by the other, as a gentle and gracious Father and a loving Friend: by the one he is a pure, searching and burning flame; by the other a sweet, refreshing light. These two kinds of attributes are as it were admirably tempered together in the revelation of the Gospel: there is a proportionable manifestation of justice and mercy, holiness and grace, majesty and gentleness, authority and condescension. God hath thus ordered that his diverse excellencies, as he reveals himself in the face of Jesus Christ [2 Corinthians 4:6], should have a proportionable manifestation, herein providing for our necessities; he knew it to be of great consequence that our apprehensions of these diverse perfections of his nature should be duly proportioned one to another; a defect on the one hand, viz. having much of a discovery of his love and grace, without a proportionable discovery of his awful majesty and his holy and searching purity, would tend spiritual pride, carnal confidence and presumption; and a defect on the other hand, viz. having much of a discovery of his holy majesty, without a proportionable discovery of his grace, tends to unbelief, a sinful fearfulness and spirit of bondage: and therefore herein chiefly consists that deficiency of experiences that I am now speaking of. The revelation God has made of himself in his Word, and the provision made for our spiritual welfare in the Gospel, is perfect; but yet the actual light and communications we have are not perfect, but many ways exceeding imperfect and maimed. And experience plainly shews that Christians may have high experiences in some respects, and yet their circumstances may be unhappy in this regard, that their experiences and discoveries are no more general. There is a great difference among Christians in this respect; some have much more general discoveries than others, who are upon many accounts the most amiable Christians. Christians may have experiences that are very high, and yet there may be very much of this deficiency and disproportion: their high experiences are truly from the Spirit of God, but sin comes in by the defect (as indeed all sin is originally from a defective, privative cause); and in such a case high discoveries, at the same time that they are enjoyed, may be, and sometimes are the occasion, or causa sine qua non [See above, pp. 67, 316.] of sin; sin may come in at that back door, the gap that is left open, as spiritual pride often does. And many times the Spirit of God is quenched by this means, and God punishes the pride and presumption that rises, by bringing such darkness, and suffering [I.e. permitting.] such awful consequences and horrid temptations, as are enough to make one's hair stand on end to hear them. Christians therefore should diligently observe their own hearts as to this matter, and should pray to God that he would give 'em experiences in which one thing may bear a proportion to another, that God may be honored and their souls edified thereby; and ministers should have an eye to this, in their private dealings with the souls of their people. 'Tis chiefly from such a defect of experiences that some things have arisen that have been pretty common among true Christians of late, that have been supposed by many to have risen from a good cause; as particularly talking of divine and heavenly things, and expressing divine joys with a laughter or a light behavior. I believe in many instances such things have arisen from a good cause, as their causa sine qua non; that high discoveries and gracious joyful affections have been the occasion of them: but the proper cause has been sin, even that odious defect in their experience, whereby there has been wanting a sense of the awful and holy majesty of God as present with them, and their nothingness and vileness before him, proportionable to the sense they have had of God's grace and the love of Christ. And the same is true in many cases of persons' unsuitable boldness, their disposition to speak with authority, intemperate zeal, and many other things that sometimes appear in true Christians under great religious affections. And sometimes the vehemence of the motion of the animal spirits, under great affections, is owing in considerable measure to experiences being thus partial. I have known it in several instances, that persons have been greatly affected with the dying love of Christ, and the consideration of the happiness of the enjoyment of him in heaven, and other things of that nature, and their animal spirits at the same time have been in a great emotion, but in the midst of it have had given 'em a deep sense of the awful, holy majesty of God; and it has at once composed them, and quieted animal nature, without diminishing their comfort, but only has made it of a better, and more solid nature: when they have had a sense both of the majesty and grace of God, one thing has as it were balanced another, and caused a more happy sedateness and composure of body and mind. From these things we may learn how to judge of experiences, and to estimate their goodness. Those are not always the best experiences that are attended with the most violent affections and most vehement motions of the body; nor are they always the best that do most dispose persons to abound in talk to others, and to speak in the most vehement manner (though these things often arise from the greatness of spiritual experiences); but those are the most excellent experiences that are qualified as follows: 1. That have the least mixture, or are the most purely spiritual. 2. That are the least deficient and partial, in which the diverse things that appertain to Christian experience are proportionable one to another And 3. That are raised to the highest degree: 'tis no matter how high they are raised if they are qualified as before mentioned the higher the better. Experiences thus qualified will be attended with the most amiable behavior, and will bring forth the most solid and sweet fruits, and will be the most durable, and will have the greatest effect on the abiding temper of the soul. If God is pleased to carry on this work and it should prove to be the dawning of a general revival of the Christian church, it may be expected that the time will come before long, when the experiences of Christians shall be much more generally thus qualified. We must expect green fruits before we have ripe ones. 'Tis probable that hereafter the discoveries which the saints shall have of divine things will be in a much higher degree than yet have been; but yet shall be so ordered of an infinitely wise and all-sufficient God, that they shall not have so great an effect in proportion on the body, and will be less oppressive to nature; and that the outward manifestations will rather be like those that were in Stephen, when he was full of the Holy Ghost, when "all that sat in the Council, looking steadfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel" [Acts 6:15]. Their inward fullness of the Spirit of God, in his divine, amiable and sweet influences, shall as it were shine forth in an heavenly aspect, and manner of speech and behavior. C. But there is another thing concerning experiences of Christians, of which it is of yet greater importance that we should aware, than either of the preceding, and that is the degenerating of experiences. What I mean is something diverse from the mere decay of experiences, or their gradually vanishing, by persons losing their sense of things; 'tis persons' experiences growing by degrees worse and worse in their kind, more and more partial deficient, in which things are more out of due proportion, and also have more and more of a corrupt mixture; the spiritual part decreases, and the other useless and hurtful parts greatly increase. There is such a thing, and it is very frequent, as experience abundantly evidences: I have seen it in very many instances; an great are the mischiefs that have risen through want of being more aware of it. There is commonly, as I observed before, in high experiences, besides that which is spiritual, a mixture of three things, viz. natural or common affections, and workings of the imagination, and a degree of self-righteousness or spiritual pride. Now it often comes to pass, that through persons not distinguishing the wheat from the chaff, and for want of watchfulness and humble jealousy of themselves, and laying great weight on the natural and imaginary part, and yielding to it and indulging of it, that part grows and increases, and the spiritual part decreases; the Devil sets in and works in the corrupt part, and cherishes it to his utmost; till at length the experiences of some persons who began well, come to but little else but violent motions of carnal affections, with great heats of the imagination, and a great degree of enthusiasm, and swelling of spiritual pride; very much like some fruits which bud, blossom and kernel well, but afterwards are blasted with an excess of moisture; so that though the bulk is monstrously great, yet there is little else in it but what is useless and unwholesome. It appears to me very probable that many of the heresies that have arisen, and sects that have appeared in the Christian world in one age and another, with wild enthusiastical notions and practices, began at first by this means, that it was such a degenerating of experiences that first gave rise to 'em, or at least led the way to 'em. There is nothing in the world that does so much expose to this degenerating of experiences, as an unheeded spiritual pride and self-confidence, and persons being conceited of their own stock, without an humble, daily and continual dependence on God. And this very thing seems to be typified of old, by the corrupting of the manna. Some of the children of Israel, because they had gathered a store of manna, trusted in it, there being, as they apprehended, sufficient in the store they had gathered and laid up, without humbly looking to heaven and stooping to the earth for daily supplies; and the consequence was that their manna "bred worms and stank," Exodus 16:20. Pride above all things promotes this degeneracy of experiences, because it grieves and quenches this Spirit of the Lamb of God, and so kills the spiritual part: and it cherishes the natural part; it inflames the carnal affections, and heats the imagination.
The unhappy person that is the subject of such a degeneracy of experiences, for the most part, is not sensible of his own calamity; but because he finds himself still violently moved, and [in] greater heats of zeal and more vehement motions of his animal spirits, thinks himself fuller of the Spirit of God than ever. But indeed it is with him, as the Apostle says of the Galatians, Galatians 3:3, having "begun in the Spirit," they are "made perfect by the flesh." By the mixture there is of common affection with love to God, the love of true Christians is liable to degenerate, and to be more and more built on the foundation of a supposition of being his high and peculiar favorites, and less and less on an apprehension of the excellency of God's nature as he is in himself. So the joy of Christians, by reason of the mixture there is with spiritual joy, is liable to degenerate and to come to that at last as to be but little else but joy in self, joy in a person's own supposed eminency, and distinction from others in the favor of God. So zeal, that at first might be in great part spiritual, yet through the mixture there is, in a long continuance of opposition and controversy, may degenerate more and more into human and proud passion, and may come to bitterness and even a degree of hatred. And so love to the brethren may by degrees come to little else but fondness and zeal for a party; yea, through a mixture of a natural love to the opposite sex, may degenerate more and more, till it issues in that which is criminal and gross. And I leave it with those who are better acquainted with ecclesiastical history, to inquire whether such a degeneracy of affections as this might not be the first thing that led the way and gave occasion to the rise of the abominable notions of some sects that have arisen concerning the community of women.[I.e. communitarian experiments practicing (or accused of) Polygamy, or more usually, plural marriage. Examples known to JE would have include the Münster "kingdom" of Reformation Germany, the English Familists (above, p. 257), and the French Prophets (above, p. 63).] However that is, yet certainly the mutual embraces and kisses of persons of different sexes, under the notion of Christian love and holy kisses, are utterly to be disallowed and abominated, as having the most direct tendency quickly to turn Christian love into unclean and brutish lust, which won't be the better, but ten times the worse, for being christened by the name of Christian love. I should also think it advisable that meetings of young people of both sexes, in the evening, by themselves, without a minister or any elder people amongst them, for religious exercises, should avoided: for though for the present, while their minds are greatly solemnized with lively impressions, and a deep sense of divine things, there may appear no ill consequence; yet we must look to the further end of things, and guard against future dangers and advantages that Satan might gain against us. As a lively, solemn sense of divine things on the minds of young persons may gradually decay, so there will be danger that an ill improvement of these meetings may gradually prevail; if not in any unsuitable behavior while together in the meeting, yet when they break up to go home, they may naturally consort together in couples for other than religious purposes; and it may at last come to that, that young persons may go to such meetings chiefly for the sake of such an opportunity for company-keeping. The defect there sometimes is in the experiences of Christians exposes 'em to degenerate, as well as the mixture that they have. Deficient maimed experiences do sometimes become more and more so: the mind being wholly intent upon those things that are in view, and those that are most wanting being neglected, there is less and less of them, and so the gap for corruption to come in grows wider and wider. And commonly both these causes of the degenerating of experiences operate together. We had need to be jealous over ourselves with a godly jealousy, as the Apostle was over the Christian Corinthians, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so our minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. God indeed will never suffer his true saints totally and finally to fall away, but yet may punish their pride and self-confidence, by suffering them to be long led into a dreadful wilderness by the subtle serpent, to the great wounding of their own souls, and the interest of religion. And before I dismiss this head of the degenerating of experiences, I would mention one thing more that tends to it; and that persons' aiming in their experience to go beyond the rule of God's Word, i.e. aiming at that which is indeed, in some respect, beyond the rule. Thus some persons have endeavored utterly to root out and abolish all natural affection, or any special affection or respect to their near relations, under a notion that no other love ought to be allowed but spiritual love, and that all other love is to be abolished as carnal, and that it becomes Christians to love none upon the account of anything else but the image of God; and that therefore love should go out to one and another only in that proportion in which the image of God is seen in them. They might as well argue that a man ought utterly to disallow of, and endeavor to abolish all love or appetite to their daily food, under a notion that it is a carnal appetite, and that no other appetite should be tolerated but spiritual appetites. Why should the saints strive after that, as an high attainment in holiness, which the Apostle in Romans 1:31 mentions as one instance wherein the heathen had got to the most horrid pass in wickedness, viz. a being without natural affection? Some have doubted whether they might pray for the conversion and salvation of the souls of their children, any more than for the souls of others; because the salvation of the souls of others would be as much to God's glory as the salvation of their children; and they have supposed that to pray most for their own would shew a selfish disposition. So they have been afraid to tolerate a compassionate grief and concern for their nearest friends, for fear it would be an argument of want of resignation to God. And 'tis true, there is great danger of persons setting their hearts too much upon their earthly friends; our love to earthly friends ought to be under the government of the love of God, and should be attended with a spirit of submission and resignation to his will, and everything should be subordinated to his glory: but that is no argument that these affections should be entirely abolished, which the Creator of the world has put within mankind, for the good of mankind, and because he saw they would be needful for them as they must be united in society, in the present state, and are of great use when kept in their proper place; and to endeavor totally to root them out would be to reproach and oppose the wisdom of the Creator. Nor is the being of these natural inclinations, if well regulated, inconsistent with any part of our duty to God, or any argument of a sinful selfishness, any more than the natural abhorrence that there is in the human nature of pain, and natural inclination to ease that was in the man Christ Jesus himself. 'Tis the duty of parents to be more concerned, and to pray more for the salvation of their children, than for the children of their neighbors, as much as it is the duty of a minister to be more concerned for the salvation of the souls of his flock, and to pray more for them, than those of other congregations, because they are committed to his care; so our near friends are more committed to our care than others, and our near neighbors, than those that live at a great distance; and the people of our land and nation are more in some sense, committed to our care than the people of China, and we ought to pray more for them, and to be more concerned that the kingdom of Christ should flourish among them, than in another country, where it would be as much and no more for the glory of God. Compassion ought to be especially exercised towards friends, Job 6:14. Christ did not frown upon a special affection and compassion for near friends, but countenanced and encouraged it, from time to time, in those that in the exercise of such an affection and compassion applied to him for relief for their friends; as in the instance of the woman of Canaan, Jairus, Mary and Martha, the centurion, the widow of Nain, and many others.[Cf. Matthew 15:22–28; Mark 5:22–24, Mark 5:35–42; John 11:1–45; Matthew 8:5–13: and Luke 7:11–15. The last case is not parallel with the others and does not illustrate JE's point, inasmuch as the widow of Nain (so far as the record goes) made no request for assistance.] The Apostle Paul, though a man as much resigned and devoted to God, and under the power of his love, perhaps as any mere man that ever lived, yet had a peculiar concern for his countrymen the Jews, the rather on that account that they were his brethren and kinsmen according to the flesh; he had a very high degree of compassionate grief for them, insomuch that he tells us he had great heaviness and continual sorrow of heart for them, and could wish himself accursed from Christ for them [Romans 9:1–3]. There are many things that are proper for the saints in heaven that are not suitable to the state God has set us in, in this world: and for Christians, in these and other instances, to affect to go beyond the present state of mankind, and what God has appointed as fit for it, is an instance of that which the wise man calls a being righteous overmuch [Ecclesiastes 7:16], and has a tendency to open a door for Satan, and to cause religious affections to degenerate into something very unbecoming of Christians. (2) Thus I have, as I proposed, taken notice of some things with regard to the inward experiences of Christians, by which Satan has an advantage. I now proceed in the second place, to take notice of something with regard to the external effects of experiences, which also gives Satan an advantage. What I have respect to is the secret and unaccountable influence that custom has upon persons, with respect to the external effects and manifestations of the inward affections of the mind. By custom I mean both a person's being accustomed to a thing in himself in his own common, allowed and indulged practice, and also the countenance and approbation of others amongst whom he dwells, by their general voice and practice. It is well known, and appears sufficiently by what I have said already in this treatise and elsewhere, that I am far from ascribing all the late uncommon effects and outward manifestations of inward experiences to custom and fashion, as some do; I know it to be otherwise, if it be possible for me to know anything of this nature by the most critical observation, under all manner of opportunities of observing. But yet, this also is exceeding evident by experience, that custom has a strange influence in these things: I know it by the different manners and degrees of external effects and manifestations of great affections and high discoveries, in different towns, according to what persons are gradually led into, and insensibly habituated to, by example and custom; and also in the same place, at different times, according to the conduct that they have. If some person is among them to conduct them, that much countenances and encourages such kind of outward manifestations of great affections, they naturally and insensibly prevail, and grow by degrees unavoidable; but when afterwards they come under another kind of conduct, the manner of external appearances will strangely alter: and yet it seems to be without any proper design or contrivance of those in whom there is this alteration; 'tis not properly affected by them, but the influence of example and custom is secret and insensible to the persons themselves. These things have a vast influence in the manner of persons manifesting their joys, whether with smiles and an air of lightness, or whether with more solemnity and reverence; and so they have a great influence as to the disposition persons have under high affections to abound in talk; and also as to the manner of their speaking, the loudness and vehemence of their speech (though it would be exceeding unjust, and against all the evidence of fact and experience, and the reasons of things, to lay all dispositions persons have to be much in speaking to others, and to speak in a very earnest manner, to custom). 'Tis manifest that example and custom has some way or other a secret and unsearchable influence on those actions that are in voluntary, by the difference that there is in different places, and in the same places at different times, according to the diverse examples and conduct that they have. Therefore, though it would be very unreasonable and prejudicial to the interest of religion to frown upon all these extraordinary external effects and manifestations of great religious affections (for a measure of them in natural, necessary and beautiful, and the effect is no wise disproportioned to the spiritual cause, and is of great benefit to promote religion); yet I think they greatly err who think that these things should be wholly unlimited, and that all should be encouraged in going in these things to the utmost length that they feel themselves inclined to: the consequence of this will be very bad. There ought to be a gentle restraint held upon these things, and there should be a prudent care taken of persons in such extraordinary circumstances, and they should be moderately advised at proper seasons, not to make more ado than there is need of, but rather to hold a restraint upon their inclinations; otherwise extraordinary outward effects will grow upon them, they will be more and more natural and unavoidable, and the extraordinary outward show will increase, without any increase of the internal cause; persons will find themselves under a kind of necessity of making a great ado, with less and less affection of soul, till at length almost any slight emotion will set them going, and they will be more and more violent and boisterous, and will grow louder and louder, till their actions and behavior becomes indeed very absurd. These things experience proves.[Critics of the revival had observed the same thing. Cf. the anonymous (Charles Chauncy?) Letter from a Gentleman in Boston to Mr. George Wishart, One of the Ministers of Edinburgh, Concerning the State of Religion in New England (Edinburgh, 1742), p. 9: "The speaker delivers himself with the greatest vehemence both of voice and gesture, and in the most frightful language his genius will allow of. If this has its intended effect upon one or two weak women, the shrieks catch from one to another, till a great part of the congregation is affected; and some are in the thought that it may be too common for those zealous in the new way to cry out themselves, on purpose to move others, and bring forward a general scream."]
Jonathan Edwards [1758], The Great Awakening (WJE Online Vol. 4) , Ed. C. C. Goen [word count] [jec-wjeo04]. |
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